Lawmaker seeks nearly 200 withheld texts in fight over Trump's Kennedy Center

Representative Joyce Beatty is asking a federal judge to order the administration to release nearly 200 text messages and other records connected to the Kennedy Center. She wants communications involving senior officials and the center's management examined in her legal challenge to the planned closure.

The records include 19 messages between executive director Matt Floca and Trump's executive assistant, Natalie Harp. They also include about 180 texts between Floca and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Eleven Floca-Harp messages were exchanged on September 15, when the board voted again to close the facility.

The messages could show how closely Trump and his administration were involved in the closure decisions. Beatty's lawyers say the communications directly concern the court's questions about how the decisions were made. The administration argues executive privilege keeps them confidential, so the judge must decide whether their relevance outweighs that claim.

Court filings identify two sets of withheld text messages tied to Kennedy Center affairs. Together, they contain nearly 200 messages, although the article gives one exact figure and one approximation: 19 messages in one set and approximately 180 in the other.

The smaller set involves Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center's executive director and CEO, and Natalie Harp, Trump's executive assistant. Eleven of those messages were exchanged on September 15. That was the day the center's board voted for a third time to close the facility.

The larger set contains approximately 180 texts between Floca and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Their contents have not been disclosed. Beatty's lawyers point to the timing and volume of the exchanges as possible evidence that Trump may have communicated frequently with center officials, directly or through other people.

The article describes the Kennedy Center as a performing arts center in Washington. It presents the institution as having a board and professional management responsible for its affairs, including decisions about closure, renovations, finances, and programming.

Matt Floca is identified as the center's executive director and CEO. The board voted on whether to close the building, while Floca later ordered a temporary closure of the main building. The court also considered the closure's possible effects on the center's finances and programming, showing why both governance and management matter.

The administration links the president's role to the board's authority. Federal law allows the president to appoint board members, and the administration says that responsibility includes assessing whether they are properly managing the institution. The article does not provide a broader legal description of the center's authority.

Executive privilege is the legal protection that allows a president to withhold certain official discussions. In this dispute, the administration says the privilege keeps Kennedy Center communications confidential while the court examines the planned closure and related decisions.

The Justice Department argues that Trump has an official role because he can appoint members of the Kennedy Center's board. It says that authority includes assessing how the institution is being managed and whether board members are managing it properly. Deputy White House Counsel Josh Hoyt extended the claim to discussions with government officials and advisers outside government.

Beatty's lawyers reject that broad application. They argue that the administration has not shown sufficient grounds for keeping the records from the court. The judge must therefore weigh the claimed confidentiality against the records' possible relevance to the closure litigation.

The president's stated role at the Kennedy Center is tied to board appointments. Federal law allows the president to appoint members of the institution's board, according to the article. That power forms the administration's main explanation for Trump's official interest in the center's operations.

The administration says appointment authority includes assessing whether board members are properly managing the institution. This position supports its argument that Trump may review communications about the center and its management. It also underpins the claim that executive privilege can protect discussions involving advisers and officials.

The article does not say that the president directly manages daily programming or operations. It does say that Trump became chairman after board members aligned with him selected him, and that the board voted on closure plans. Those facts place his appointment power within a wider dispute over governance and renovations.

Judge Cooper has already ruled against two major actions involving the Kennedy Center. In May, he found that Trump's name had been added to the building unlawfully and directed that it be removed. That ruling came after Trump became chairman through a board selection by members aligned with him.

Cooper also blocked the two-year renovation closure approved by the board in March. His reason was that board members had not properly considered how closing the center would affect its finances and programming. The ruling directly connected the closure plan to the court's review of decision-making.

The Justice Department later asked Cooper to lift the restriction so renovations could proceed. Trump argued that the building was dangerous and needed extensive work, saying it might need to be "ripped down." Despite the ruling, the board voted again to close on September 15.

The dispute centers on a basic tension: presidents and administrations may claim confidentiality, while courts need relevant evidence to review challenged decisions. Executive privilege protects certain official discussions, but Beatty's lawyers argue that protection cannot automatically prevent a judge from examining communications tied to the closure.

The messages provide a concrete example of that tension. Eleven texts between Matt Floca and Natalie Harp were exchanged on the day the board voted again to close the center. About 180 additional texts involved Floca and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Their contents remain undisclosed, so their precise importance is still unknown.

The judge must decide whether the administration has established enough grounds for withholding them. If the records bear directly on how the closure was approved, they could assist the court. If privilege is upheld, the court may examine the dispute with less direct evidence about the administration's involvement.