Kennedy Center head steps down after tumultuous year

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Ric Grenell, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, is stepping down from his role as the head of Kennedy Center after a tumultuous year at the iconic performing arts venue.

Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that Grenell will be replaced by Matt Floca, the centre’s vice-president of facilities operations.

Grenell, a former US ambassador to Germany, oversaw far-reaching changes at the centre that were followed by an exodus of artists and plummeting ticket sales.

Trump installed himself as the chairman of the centre in February 2025 after returning to the White House and renamed it after himself. The performing arts venue is now preparing to shut down for a two-year renovation.

“Ric Grenell has done an excellent job in helping to co-ordinate various elements of the Center during the transition period, and I want to thank him for the outstanding work he has done,” Trump wrote.

The president said Grenell’s successor had “helped us achieve tremendous progress in bringing the Center to the highest level of Excellence!”

Floca joined the Kennedy Center in January 2024 under the Biden administration, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has a background in facilities and construction management, a statement from the centre says.

Once confirmed by the centre’s board of directors, Floca will oversee its massive renovation project, which starts in July.

Trump has lambasted the physical state of the centre and has secured more than $250m (£182m) to rebuild it, one of many renovation projects he has taken on in his second term.

“THE TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER will be, at its completion, the finest facility of its kind anywhere in the World!” Trump wrote in the same post announcing the Floca’s appointment.

Shortly after taking office for his second term, the president fired several of the centre’s board members and replaced them with allies who then voted to make Trump chairman.

The new board renamed the institution the Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in December. New signage appeared on the building’s exterior the following day.

Some US lawmakers and legal scholars have argued that, because the centre was named in a 1964 law, Congress must have a say on any name change.

Trump also criticised the centre’s past programming as too “woke”, and under his leadership a number of musical acts cancelled performances there, including the cast of Hamilton, Wicked composer Steven Schwartz, and a group called Doug Varone and the Dancers.

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Washington DC

Donald Trump

United States