A section of the ceiling in the grand foyer of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts collapsed on Friday evening, 5 September 2026, following heavy rain in the Washington DC area. Officials temporarily closed the building after the incident, though no injuries were reported.
Kennedy Center officials stated on Saturday that the collapse demonstrates the urgent need for renovations. Roma Daravi, the center’s vice-president for public relations, said in a statement that the collapse was "another example of the urgent need to close for renovation and revitalization, as our Chairman President Trump has championed".
The Trump-aligned board has proposed closing the center for two years for $250m in renovations and adding President Trump's name to the building's facade. A federal judge last month expressed doubts about returning Trump's name to the building after a district court blocked renovations and ordered its removal, stating it had been added illegally.
The board voted earlier this month to inscribe "The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J Trump" on the facade by 8 September. Administration attorneys argue that without Trump-backed funding, the building "will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down".