(CNN) — President Donald Trump’s handpicked board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has voted a second time to close the performing arts institution for renovations, according to two people who were briefed on the decision.
As part of the renovation plan, the board voted to keep open part of the complex separate from the main building, called the REACH, which will host smaller scale shows, the people said.
The historic arts center has been in legal limbo and faced drama for much of the summer after the Kennedy Center’s abrupt decision to close for a two-year renovation drew scrutiny and a lawsuit.
Trump had announced plans earlier in the year to close it as he has made reshaping the Washington institution a priority in his second term. In December, the board of trustees even added his name to the building.
In May, a federal judge blocked the Kennedy Center’s planned two-year closure, demanding the board consider maintaining some programming during renovations to carry out its congressionally mandated activities.
US District Judge Casey Cooper in Washington, DC, also said the center’s board violated the law when it added Trump’s name to the historic performing arts venue.
The institution has also faced slumping ticket sales, artist withdrawals, political controversies and a diminished staff, which have made it challenging to restart a full-scale programming schedule, multiple sources familiar with the matter previously told CNN.
Trump’s name was removed from the facade of the Kennedy Center in June after the court order. The institution name remains hidden by large tarps.
CNN has reached out to the Kennedy Center for comment.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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