A group of eight architecture and cultural organizations is suing President Trump and the board of the Kennedy Center over the planned renovations of the arts complex, which are set to begin in just over three months. The lawsuit seeks to have the White House and the Kennedy Center board comply with existing historic preservation laws and secure Congress' approval before moving ahead with the renovations.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., by the American Institute of Architects, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, the DC Preservation League, Docomomo US and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Collectively, these groups have over 1 million members.
In an email sent Monday to NPR, White House spokesperson Liz Huston wrote: "President Trump is committed to making the Trump-Kennedy Center the finest performing arts facility in the world. We look forward to ultimate victory on the issue." NPR also requested comment from the Kennedy Center, but did not receive a response.
In the lawsuit, the groups wrote that the Kennedy Center has stood since 1971 "as a living memorial to a slain president, a national gathering place for the arts and a defining landmark within the monumental core of the Nation's capital. Its Modernist design, grand public spaces and role as a premier cultural institution together form an irreplaceable legacy of history, architecture and civic purpose."
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