Trump news at a glance: Kennedy Center to close; Epstein case ‘over’, says deputy US attorney general

Trump announces two-year closure of Kennedy Center, citing construction needs - key US politics stories from 1 February 2026

Donald Trump, who remains embroiled in tensions surrounding ICE's presence in Minnesota, as well as scrutiny over the justice department's latest release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, has made another announcement on Sunday evening: the temporary closure of the John F Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

Trump, who overhauled the center's leadership at the start of his second term and renamed it to include his own name, described the center as tired, broken, and dilapidated," adding that it has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years".