Lawmaker who accused Trump of Kennedy Center snub missed invite in spam folder

The Democratic congresswoman suing President Trump and the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees over their bid to revamp the storied arts institution was caught in a blunder ahead of a court appearance Thursday.  

In court filings last week, lawyers for Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) said she had not been invited to a March 16 meeting where the plan to overhaul the center is set to be formalized.  

But the Justice Department countered — and Beatty’s counsel later confirmed — that the congresswoman was in fact extended an invitation; it just went to her email spam folder.  

“Plaintiff appreciates Defendants’ confirmation that she can attend the meeting at the White House,” her lawyers wrote, noting that, “upon further investigation,” the email was found tucked away in spam. 

However, they said it “bears emphasis” that when Beatty searched for and could not find the email last week, the Kennedy Center’s executive director, Richard Grenell, and general counsel “ignored her for two days.”  

“As a result, Plaintiff had reason to believe Defendants — who had already silenced her in the December meeting — had excluded her from the upcoming meeting,” the lawyers wrote. “Regardless, in any event, her being ‘permitted to attend’ does not come anywhere close to remediating her harms.” 

A federal judge is set to hear arguments Thursday afternoon over Beatty’s motion for a temporary restraining order to ensure she can voice her opinion and vote on the plan to shut down the Kennedy Center for two years to “completely rebuild” it.  

An ex officio board member for the center, the Ohio Democrat sued Trump and other board members in December over efforts to “rename, shutter and gut” it. Her lawsuit came days after the board voted to update the institution’s name to include Trump’s, and the building’s signage was updated. 

Though the Trump administration claimed the board’s vote to rename the center the Trump Kennedy Center was unanimous, Beatty disputed it. She said at the time that she was on the call where the decision was made but was repeatedly muted and prevented from participating. 

Her lawyers contend that there’s no reason to believe that the March 16 meeting will be any different.  

Beatty also seeks to vote on the matter, which the Trump administration opposes. 

“To be sure, Plaintiff will not be permitted to vote,” wrote Justice Department lawyer William Jankowski. “But that is because, under the Center’s bylaws and established procedure, ex officio trustees have no right to vote.” 

The government says the federal statute that established the Kennedy Center does not speak to the voting rights of ex officio trustees, instead distinguishing them from the governing general trustees. That means the board may self-regulate, Jankowski argued.  

“Plaintiff is therefore not substantially likely to show that the Board violated the terms of its trust by following its own bylaws, or that her claims as a trustee provide relief for her challenge to the Board’s administration of its own affairs,” he said.  

Beatty’s request for temporary relief asks the court to block the board from barring her participation and ability to vote, in addition to requiring the board to provide her and other trustees with “key documents and information” ahead of the March 16 meeting.  

She also asked the judge to consider her request for extended relief that would block the plan to “rebuild” the Kennedy Center while her lawsuit is ongoing, contending that the arts institution may only undergo major construction and cease performing its statutory functions with congressional approval.  

“President Trump and Defendant Grenell have nevertheless said they will close and intimated they will demolish the Kennedy Center, without any congressional authorization, while simultaneously attempting to remain ambiguous about the details of what will occur,” Beatty’s lawyers wrote. “This strategy appears tailor-made to shroud Defendants’ actions from scrutiny and prevent anyone from weighing in before it is too late to stop them.” 

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