JFK Library closes abruptly amid federal layoffs
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The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. Photo: Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images
The JFK Library and Museum closed abruptly Tuesday afternoon amid federal layoffs.
Why it matters: The JFK Library, overseen by the National Archives and Records Administration, got caught in the crossfire of massive federal layoffs.
Catch up quick: The library and museum closed around 2pm Tuesday with no explanation or indication of when it would reopen.
- A spokesperson for the JFK Library Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the presidential library and museum, confirmed the closure, citing unspecified federal changes.
- The spokesperson directed questions to the National Archives, which oversees operations at presidential libraries, declined to respond until announcing the library would reopen Wednesday.
Driving the news: The JFK Library Foundation confirmed Tuesday night that federal employees were laid off, prompting the remaining staff to close the library.
- The foundation did not say how many employees were dismissed, but Joe Kennedy III told WBZ-Boston the library laid off five probationary employees.
What they're saying: "When we start shutting down libraries in the name of government efficiency, we've got a problem," Kennedy's grandnephew said during the TV interview.
- Both he and Jack Schlossberg, Kennedy's grandson, said the probationary employees who lost their jobs were in roles that help generate revenue for the library.
- Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey blamed the closure on "Donald Trump and Elon Musk's thoughtless crusade."
Between the lines: The closure came as a federal judge declined to block billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency from laying off workers.
- It also follows the Trump administration's removal of Colleen Shogan, the national archivist.
- The agency has come under scrutiny by Trump ever since it alerted the Justice Department to Trump's handling of classified documents in 2022, Reuters reported.
Flashback: The JFK Library building in South Boston opened in 1979 after years of discussions over where to display the late President John F. Kennedy's records and legacy.
- Some 20,000 people a week visited the institution in its first weeks, the New York Times reported at the time.