Washington — President Trump is taking questions from reporters ahead of a meeting with the Kennedy Center board of trustees on Monday, which is taking place as the third week of Iran war is underway.
Mr. Trump is hosting the board for a lunch meeting in the White House East Room, and during the meeting, the board is expected to discuss and vote on the proposed Kennedy Center renovations, which are to be undertaken while the center is closed for two years, starting on July 4.
Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who is an ex officio member of the board, is suing over the planned closure of the center. Over the weekend, a federal judge granted a motion by Beatty to receive information about and participate in the board meeting. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered that Beatty “be afforded a meaningful opportunity to lodge her dissent at the meeting and not be categorically barred from speaking.”
After the ruling, Beatty said in a statement, “No president has the authority to shut Congress out of the governance of the Kennedy Center, much less unilaterally rename or demolish it.” She continued, “We will not stand by while an important part of our national heritage is jeopardized” and said she intended to “make that clear” at Monday’s board meeting.
The meeting is taking place as the war with Iran is fueling higher oil prices above $100 a barrel and as the president pressures several other countries to help open the critical Strait of Hormuz. There are plans in place for the U.S. to deploy as many as 5,000 additional forces to the Middle East, CBS News has learned.
Iran claims the U.S.-Israeli strikes so far have killed nearly 1,500 people. Iran’s strikes have killed 14 people in Israel and about 40 more throughout the Middle East. Of those, 13 were U.S. service members.
The Kennedy Center board meeting comes after the president announced Friday that Ric Grenell would step aside from his post as the center’s president, and Matt Floca, who until now has been the center’s vice president of facilities and operations, will be the CEO.