Ric Grenell is leaving his post as president of the Kennedy Center, ending a tumultuous year as head of the Washington, DC-based venue.
Donald Trump announced Grenell’s departure on Friday, saying in a social media post: “Ric Grenell has done an excellent job in helping to coordinate various elements of the Center during the transition period, and I want to thank him for the outstanding work he has done.”
Grenell will be replaced by Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center’s current vice president of facilities operations.
Since being appointed interim president in February 2025, Grenell has spearheaded a comprehensive and highly contentious restructuring of the Kennedy Center in accordance with Trump’s “America First” cultural vision. The overhaul involved a shift away from what Trump characterized as “woke” programming in favor of more classical, “patriotic,” and “family friendly” performances, as well as a reimagining of the Kennedy Center Honors to celebrate figures hand-selected by the president himself. The Kennedy Center has also undergone several physical changes; its Trump-appointed board renamed the venue to include the president’s name, while Trump recently announced that it would shutter for two years to undergo renovations.
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The dramatic upheaval at the Kennedy Center has been met with a number of high-level staff resignations and a wave of cancelations from prominent artists including Philip Glass, Stephen Schwartz, Renée Fleming, Béla Fleck, and Rhiannon Giddens, among others.
This is a developing story…
