Shut Down the Center

Is the fight finished? For almost two years now, President Donald Trump has pressed to have the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts bear his name rather than Kennedy’s. Yesterday, the Kennedy Center’s board decided to shut the building for a two-year renovation worth $250 million, to begin immediately. Trump, not exactly revered for his convictions but often reliable in pursuit, warned that he would obstruct the renovations unless his name was appended. It’s worth noting that the debate isn’t about misusing public funds; this is a largely petty, partisan clash.

Some context: In essence, the Kennedy Center was designated by federal law in 1964 to bear the name of President John F. Kennedy, who had been assassinated the prior year. The statute barred the center’s board from renaming the institution or adding another person’s name. Only a formal act of Congress could alter the designation.

Trump, as you might expect, did not approve of this arrangement. In February 2025, he replaced every board member appointed by former President Biden with aides loyal to him, then steered the board to elect him as chair. The center was subsequently renamed by him. “In May [2026], U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that Trump’s name had been unlawfully added to the Kennedy Center and blocked plans to close the venue for major renovations,” reports Newsweek. But “rather than giving up, Kennedy Center trustees returned with a recalibrated approach. On August 13, the board endorsed language acknowledging Trump’s role in the renovation without formally renaming the institution. The proposed plaque would read, ‘The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.’” They also floated the idea of naming portions of the grounds after Trump.

Yesterday, a federal judge blocked the board’s bid to reinstate Trump’s name on the center. Now, Trump contends that the closure should proceed immediately, but renovations would start only if a federal appeals court or the Supreme Court decides that his name may be restored as the center’s official designation.

It’s a chaotic scenario. And perhaps the most infuriating aspect is that public funds would be used for the renovation. Your hard-earned tax dollars!

If you reside in Washington, the Kennedy Center might hold some local appeal. For anyone elsewhere in the country, it’s rather odd that a national arts venue you’re unlikely to visit is being revamped with public money taken from you.

Originally conceived under Dwight D. Eisenhower as a project to serve as an “artistic mecca,” with legislation formalizing it in 1958. “Art and the encouragement of art is political in the most profound sense,” Kennedy once said in 1962. “Not as a weapon of battle, but as a tool for understanding the futility of conflict among people who share a common belief.”

That sentiment still rings true. It’s precisely the political dimension of art that fuels the argument against government funding for it. The thing art may critique most—state power—can’t be the one footing the bill.

Today, the Kennedy Center operates more as a stage for well-established performances, which benefits local residents but doesn’t necessarily nurture new talent. “Art is the great democrat, calling forth inventive genius from every segment of society, regardless of race, faith, wealth, or color,” Kennedy intoned decades ago. If only the Center truly fulfilled that ideal. Even if it did, the fundamental question remains: should taxpayers be obliged to finance it?

Scenes from New York: “Starting this spring, the New York City Mayor’s Office began assigning a roughly six-month response deadline to nearly every records request filed under the state’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), regardless of the issue,” reports City Journal. “The Manhattan Institute is asking a court to halt the practice.” This is a strong move, though some Reason colleagues note that most New York City mayoral administrations have violated the statute. Still, it’s a step toward accountability, since the policy is illegal and improper no matter who implements it.

The Mamdani administration has simply stopped filling FOIL requests in a timely fashion.

Every request automatically gets a six-month delay, regardless of content.

That’s illegal—and we’re suing to force the admin. to be transparent.https://t.co/NMSFTly40K https://t.co/PfPm7o8gK9 pic.twitter.com/elwMmWYsyv

— Charles Fain Lehman (@CharlesFLehman) September 15, 2026

QUICK HITS

• The first five months of the Iran conflict cost the United States roughly $38 billion, according to Congress’ nonpartisan budget watchdog, providing the most thorough early look at the extended military engagement ahead of the midterm elections, per Politico. The Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday that the war, which has already consumed more than half of the Trump administration’s total requested war funding, would run about $2 billion to $3 billion each month going forward. The agency also noted that the fighting has strained U.S. weapon stocks, including key air-defense interceptors. Breaking down the $38 billion figure further, most of it covers replacing missiles and air defenses, estimated at $21.7 billion, including $13.1 billion for missile interceptors, $7.3 billion for cruise missiles, and $1.2 billion for other munitions.
• Leah Libresco Sargeant, writing for The Argument, asks, “What do we owe the embryos we leave behind?” IVF and the growing tally of frozen embryos could create a moral form of technical debt. As someone who views these frozen embryos as equally human to their siblings born through term pregnancy, she finds no fully satisfactory solution.
• The Federal Reserve is expected to announce a quarter-point rate hike, bringing the federal funds rate to 4 percent. This would mark the first increase since mid‑2023. With midterm elections two months away, President Trump—keen to preserve Republican control of Congress—may be displeased with the new Chair, Kevin Warsh.
• In other news: A recent poll places Democrat James Talarico slightly ahead of Republican Ken Paxton in Texas’ high-stakes U.S. Senate race ahead of November, according to Newsweek. The SoCal Strategies survey shows Talarico at 50% to Paxton’s 45%, a shift from the pollster’s June numbers, which had Paxton leading 49% to 47%.
• New York City residents: on October 13, there’s a screening of Jim Epstein’s Venezuela documentary in the works.

Blackouts. Starvation. Censorship. This is what socialism did to a once-prosperous nation.

Reason’s upcoming documentary, ESCAPING VENEZUELA, follows one family’s struggle to survive amid the collapse. Watch an early trailer below. pic.twitter.com/olsVGvNwBN

— reason (@reason) September 15, 2026