On Monday the board of the Kennedy Center — all toadies appointed by Donald Trump — will meet to vote on plans to shut down for two years and do a top-to-bottom reconstruction.
Except Joyce Beatty. The Congresswoman is an also an ex-officio member of the board, the lone Democrat.
Beatty has just won a partial temporary restraining order against Trump and the Board. She is already suing Trump and the Board over the closure. But this action is meant to allow her to participate in Monday’s meeting fully informed.
The US District Court in Washington DC has ordered the Board to share with Beatty their plans in advance and the right to speak at the meeting. She will, not, however, be allowed to speak at the meeting.
This decision comes on the heels of Trump ousting his own handpicked chief of the Center, Ric Grenell, who has destroyed ticket sales and enthusiasm for the Center, and chased out major performing arts groups as a result. He’s being replaced by the building manager.
Trump has already sworn he would take the Kennedy Center building down to its studs, rebuild it in the most tacky possible way as he renames it for himself.
“The Court will therefore order that Beatty receive certain information and documents in advance of the meeting, to the extent they exist. It further orders that Beatty be afforded a meaningful opportunity to lodge her dissent at the meeting and not be categorically barred from speaking.”
The full memorandum can be read here.
Bravo, Rep. Beatty, and thank you for standing up to this act of ego and destruction. Donald Trump seeks to wipe out the Kennedy legacy, and convert the Center into one of his gold, marble, and chrome casinos. We can only hope that Beatty can end this disaster through the courts.
