Kennedy Center renews call for Trump-backed shutdown after part of a ceiling collapses - NBC News

A section of ceiling in the Kennedy Center's grand foyer collapsed Friday evening during stormy weather in Washington, leaving a large hole and scattering debris across the red carpet in a hallway connecting the venue's three main auditoriums; no one was injured.
Roma Daravi, the center's vice president for public relations, cited the collapse as evidence of an "urgent need" to close the arts venue for renovation, attributing the structural failure to "decades of neglect and deferred maintenance by the previous leadership."
The Kennedy Center's Trump-aligned board is pursuing plans to shut the building for two years for $250 million in renovations and to add President Donald Trump's name to its facade.
In May, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that Trump's name had been added to the building illegally, ordered it removed, and blocked the administration from closing the venue for renovations.
An August board vote sought to return Trump's name so the facade would read: "The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump," with Justice Department lawyers arguing renovation donations would dry up without his name.
The push at the Kennedy Center is part of Trump's broader second-term effort to reshape Washington, which has included demolishing the White House East Wing for a ballroom, plans for a triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery, and a renovated golf course along the Potomac River.