A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to provide a 30-day notice to the court of any proposals to modify existing construction plans for the Kennedy Center, including “demolition.”

The order, which largely restated terms of a previous injunction preventing the administration from closing or modifying the building, comes amid efforts by officials to shutter and potentially destroy the presidential memorial and performing arts center after the court ordered that President Donald Trump’s name be removed from the building.

The president told reporters on Wednesday that the building could be “ripped down” if his name isn’t added to it in some fashion.

The text, which is partially obscured, can be seen on a sign through the jet’s window. Trump appears in the next window over, looking at the sign.

In his Thursday order, Judge Charles Cooper authorized discovery for Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), the plaintiff and Kennedy Center trustee, into the picture Trump was photographed looking at.

President Donald Trump is seen aboard Air Force One checking a Kennedy Center large printout after landing at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Sept. 16, 2026. Trump, who is returning from Gastonia, North Carolina, after campaigning for Republican US Senate candidate Michael Whatley, threatened on Sept. 15, 2026, to keep the Kennedy Center closed for good after a judge ruled that his name cannot be added to the famed arts institution's facade.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI via Getty Images

The Ohio Democratic lawmaker has been leading the fight against Trump’s takeover of the venerated arts institution and the “unlawful” closure of the memorial to former President John F. Kennedy.

The Kennedy Center’s board, made up of appointees hand-picked by Trump, on Tuesday voted to close the center for up to two years for a $257 million renovation.

Beatty had asked the judge to hold an emergency hearing following the announcement of the closure, and on Thursday submitted an additional filing after the photo emerged.

“A photo has been circulated on social media depicting President Trump reading a placard on Air Force One that appears to read ‘Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED,’” stated the latest filing, which included a blown-up version of the image.

Beatty’s lawyers said in the court petition that the board closing the Kennedy Center is a “plain pretext to justify shutting down the Center permanently. The facts before the Court are deeply concerning.”

They asked the judge to make “crystal clear” that his earlier order “prohibits demolishing the structure.”

Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center’s executive director and chief operating officer, said in its own filing Thursday that the temporary closure was due to “acute risks to public safety resulting from continued structural deterioration” of the aging building.

The center, which was established by Congress and opened in 1971, is no longer accessible to the public during normal operating hours.