The Washington arts institution terminated about a dozen employees on Friday, according to people familiar with the layoffs. These cuts follow the ongoing closure of the main facility during a legal battle over President Trump's efforts to rename and transform the venue. The building remains shut to the public after a Trump-appointed board voted to close the site for renovations, a move that trustee Rep. Joyce Beatty has contested via emergency court motions.

The Rapid Response Choir led crowds in protests outside the center Friday, where demonstrators planned to link hands around the perimeter of the building. The institution's current instability follows a year in which it lost $30 million in pledges and grants and $16 million in program revenue, alongside a $48 million write-off.