A seat at the table, but no vote yet for a Democratic lawmaker in the Kennedy Center board showdown

A federal judge ruled on Saturday that a Democratic lawmaker is entitled to participate at a board meeting for discussing President Donald Trump's plan to close down the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for two years of renovations. But the judge is not forcing the board to let Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex officio member through her position in Congress, vote at Monday's session. She sued to preclude the Trump administration from excluding her from the meeting where board members are expected to decide whether to approve the Republican president's proposal to shutter the center during the construction project. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper concluded that the board must give Beatty documents about the closure and renovation plans because withholding that information before the vote would prevent her from doing her job as a trustee. She must also be allowed to speak at the meeting, he said. "The Court finds, however, that Beatty has not carried her burden as to her right to vote, at least at this very early stage," Cooper said. The judge said allowing her to participate and engage in deliberations means "the marginal harm to her from not voting is much less, as she will be able to lodge her objections on the record and have the opportunity to persuade her colleagues of her position." There was no immediate response from Beatty and the Kennedy Center to requests for comment on the ruling. After Cooper heard arguments Thursday, Beatty told reporters she went to court to stand up for the rule of law and democracy. "I want to know where your money — our money — is going," she said outside the courthouse. Beatty's lawyer, Nathaniel Zelinsky, said the White House has engaged in a pattern of trying to stifle dissent at meetings like the one scheduled for Monday. "We're not asking for something unusual," he told the judge. "It's my friends on the other side you are asking you to deviate from the norm." Cooper pressed Justice Department lawyer William Jankowski...