Board amends bylaws to strip ex officio trustees of voting rights and quorum status

Other

Date
Actor
Kennedy Center Board of Trustees
Type
Other
Section
SUPPLEMENT: THE KENNEDY CENTER TAKEOVER IS ABSENT FROM THE CULTURAL-INSTITUTIONS RECORD, THOUGH THE SMITHSONIAN, NEA, NEH, IMLS, AND NPS ACTIONS ARE ALL COVERED

Summary

The reconstituted board amends the Center's bylaws to exclude 23 ex officio trustees — a class that by statute includes named Members of Congress and Cabinet officers — from voting and from counting toward a quorum. The effect is to concentrate all governing authority, including over programming and institutional identity, in the presidentially appointed general trustees. This bylaw amendment later became a claim in Beatty v. Trump.

Status

Invalidated. On May 29, 2026 Judge Christopher R. Cooper granted summary judgment holding that ex officio trustees possess equal voting authority (see 2026-05-29). Appeal pending in the D.C. Circuit. Update, Sept. 23, 2026: On Sept. 18, 2026, defendants moved to vacate or dissolve the May 29, 2026 preliminary injunction and renewed their motion for partial summary judgment, relying on a new Delta Consulting Report and Sept. 15, 2026 board-meeting materials (D.D.C. No. 1:25-cv-04480, ECF 88); as of Sept. 23, 2026 neither motion had been decided, and the D.C. Circuit appeal of the injunction remains pending (notice of appeal transmitted Sept. 16, 2026).

As recorded in the data of . Check the sources for anything newer.

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