The board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is expected to vote on Monday on a temporary closure to permit the renovation program put forward by President Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with the agenda.
The session will be held in the East Room of the White House, and the renovation proposals are anticipated to receive approval. The president has been an active proponent of the changes, and the voting members of the board were appointed by him.
In a separate action last December, the board approved changing the name of the building - which Congress dedicated as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy after his assassination in 1963 - to the Trump-Kennedy Center.
President Trump has previously announced that the center would close for two years of renovation, with that shutdown slated to begin after the July 4 Independence Day holiday. In announcing the closure on February 1, he said: "The temporary closure will produce a much faster and higher quality result."
Not all members of the center's oversight structure have supported the plan. Some Democrats who hold non-voting positions on the board, including U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty, have formally challenged the president's proposals. A federal judge last week ordered the administration to permit the congresswoman to attend Monday's meeting and to be given access to the renovation plans.
"No president has the authority to shut Congress out of the governance of the Kennedy Center, much less unilaterally rename or demolish it," Beatty said in a statement after the court order.
The full scope of the expected renovations remains unclear. President Trump has described the building as "run down" and dangerous. On Friday he released exterior renderings that show a look similar to the current white marble facade and the white columns that ring the structure, elements that were recently painted over.
Interior visual plans have not been released. In December the president suggested adding white marble arm rests to the center's seating. He has also said changes will be made to the carpet, walls, chandeliers, stages and ventilation systems.
As the trustees prepare to vote, the immediate outcomes are limited to the approval process and access to the renovation documentation ordered by a court. The decision to temporarily close, if approved, is intended to accelerate work and alter significant interior and infrastructure elements, but precise designs and timelines beyond the stated two-year closure have not been disclosed.