GEOFF BENNETT: The John F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts recently renamed the Trump Kennedy Center will likely be closing its doors for two years starting this summer.

President Trump made the announcement on social media yesterday, claiming it's necessary for renovations.

Our White House correspondent, Liz Landers, spoke with a former Kennedy board -- excuse me -- former Kennedy Center board member earlier as part of our ongoing coverage, Art in Action, exploring the intersection of art and democracy.

LIZ LANDERS: Geoff, two sources told me that the Kennedy Center staff found out about the changes on TRUTH Social.

The president said that this would take effect July 4, pending approval of the board, a group that he has appointed and made himself the chairman of.

For more on all this, let's bring in former Republican Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, who served on the Kennedy Center board.

Congresswoman, thank you so much for joining us.

FMR.

REP.

BARBARA COMSTOCK (R-VA): Good to be with you.

LIZ LANDERS: What was your reaction when you saw this announcement from President Trump?

FMR.

REP.

BARBARA COMSTOCK: Well, with so many things with Donald Trump, he always makes it about himself.

The Kennedy Center has been a living memorial for 55 years to President Kennedy and to the arts, and it's been nonpartisan.

And in just one short year, he has destroyed all of that.

So it's very troubling for those of us who have enjoyed it for decades.

And for somebody who did participate as a board member, it's very troubling to see another lawless action.

First, he put his name on it, and he has attacked and besmirched people who were involved in dedicating their careers to the Kennedy Center.

So he makes it about himself.

And now, because it's been a failure, because people have left and not wanted to be involved with it now because of what he has done, he's now shutting it down, and now we have to worry about what he might do.

Will he try and destroy the building itself, like he has the East Wing?

We can't trust that he will do anything legal, because there's an open case right now challenging what he's done on putting his own name on it.

What if -- that itself, I certainly don't think is legal.

The way he's removed board members, certainly, we don't think it's legal.

And he hasn't involved Congress in this, which provides funding, and we don't see that the leadership in Congress will step up and challenge him.

LIZ LANDERS: This closure for renovation depends on the board's approval.

Do you think that they are going to approve this?

And to your point about members of Congress, should Congress have some oversight about this closure and renovation for the next two years?

FMR.

REP.

BARBARA COMSTOCK: Well, certainly, Congress should.

I don't have a lot of kind of trust that they will, because this Congress, this leadership has shown no interest in standing up to Donald Trump.

Certainly, this board, which is his board -- I mean, he made this decision.

Then he said, oh, well, I will give it to my board.

And we know how his boards usually perform.

So it is very troubling.

But, yes, Congress should stand up and do its own job, since they provided the money.

And if they don't, I certainly hope that those of us who are involved in -- the people who are involved in lawsuits, I certainly hope those who are concerned about it will withhold funding until he -- until it's shown that there will be bipartisan action on this.

And it should not be shut down.

I mean, that is very troubling.

All of us who have seen the Kennedy Center in action for these many -- for decades have seen that this has functioned fine until he came along in this past year and has destroyed all of that.

LIZ LANDERS: So we spoke with the Kennedy Center president, Ric Grenell, who said that they are changing programming to appeal to a wider audience.

Here's what he told Amna last month.

RICHARD GRENELL, Interim President, Kennedy Center: This is a phenomenon that's been going on for decades.

Arts centers are struggling.

And the only way that you can go forward and have an arts institution that's financially secure is to look at the holistic aspect.

We cannot have arts institutions that lose money because you have programming that is woke or not popular.

LIZ LANDERS: Do you think that his point there and what he says, that the president is also making that point, he was saying too, that the programming needs to appeal to a broader audience, do you think that the Kennedy Center programming was not appealing to a broad audience and needed some changes?

FMR.

REP.

BARBARA COMSTOCK: Well, I think the programming, it has been speaking for itself.

It has been filled up for decades.

And Ric Grenell is certainly not a competent person to be heading it up.

He did not have the background to be put in charge of this.

So it's very sad to see a partisan like this, again, somebody who's been smearing the reputations of the people who have been involved on a voluntary basis, dedicating their money, as well as their careers, to this institution, and then he comes along and attacks it with no background or experience in this.

LIZ LANDERS: What would a two-year shutdown of the Kennedy Center mean for the arts, both locally and nationally?

Do you think that the venue can recover?

FMR.

REP.

BARBARA COMSTOCK: Well, I certainly hope it doesn't come to that.

But, listen, they have been -- my understanding is Donald Trump has been out there shaking down the community for money.

So what has been -- who's been giving money to this right now?

What's going on?

What is the plan for this?

When we look at what he's done, the example already we have seen of what he's done with the East Wing, what is the vision of what he's going to do.

When he's asking people to give money, and then he has this partisan board that is his board, who is making these decisions?

So I think this needs to be taken out of his hands and out of the hands of his partisans and put it back into the hands of an independent board, into the hands of Congress and oversight.

I mean, it would just be tragic to have this revered arts center destroyed by somebody who's never shown any love of the arts.

LIZ LANDERS: Former Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, thank you for being here.

FMR.

REP.

BARBARA COMSTOCK: Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, late today, President Trump said he would not be -- quote -- "ripping down" the Kennedy Center, but indicated the interior could be gutted.