Kennedy Center Head Richard Grenell Steps Down Amid Trump Upheaval
Update: President Trump announced Friday that he is promoting Kennedy Center VP of operations Matt Floca to chief operating officer and executive director, replacing outing president Richard Grenell.
The promotion is subject to board approval, which the Associated Press reports is due to be approved after a Monday vote.
Original story: Richard Grenell stepped down Friday as head of the Kennedy Center amid President Trump’s ongoing upheaval of the performing arts center.
Today marks the latest change to the arts institution in the last few months. Grenell has been the interim president of the Kennedy Center – which now bears the name Trump Kennedy Center on the building – since February 2025. The run of his leadership has been marked with one tumultuous event or performance bow out after another.
The news comes a month after Trump announced the Kennedy Center would close down for two years starting on July 4 for renovations. That news came after the building name change and Trump fixing himself as chair of the center’s board and replacing a majority of its members with loyalists. This led to a cascade of cancellations from performers.
“After a one year review of The Trump Kennedy Center, that has taken place with Contractors, Musical Experts, Art Institutions, and other Advisors and Consultants, deciding between either Construction with Closure and Re-Opening or, Partial Construction while continuing Entertainment Operations through a much longer period of time, working in and around the Performances, I have determined that The Trump Kennedy Center, if temporarily closed for Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding, can be, without question, the finest Performing Arts Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He added: “In other words, if we don’t close, the quality of Construction will not be nearly as good, and the time to completion, because of interruptions with Audiences from the many Events using the Facility, will be much longer. The temporary closure will produce a much faster and higher quality result!”
Acts that have backed out of the performances at the venue include Issa Rae, “Hamilton,” Philip Glass, and the Washington National Opera.
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