Former acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell is stepping down as CEO and executive director of the Trump-Kennedy Center.
Matt Floca, the current vice president of facilities operations, will replace Grenell, subject to approval by the board of directors, President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“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,” Trump said in the post.
The change in leadership comes as Trump announced last month that the center will close for two years for extensive renovations beginning after July 4, The Daily Wire previously reported.
“THE TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER will be, at its completion, the finest facility of its kind anywhere in the World!” Trump wrote.
He posted renderings of the renovations to Truth Social yesterday.
Grenell has led the Trump-Kennedy Center for more than a year after Trump overhauled the board and took over as chair. His departure, first reported by Axios, comes as the center has received backlash after changing its lineup, which included ending drag shows for children.
Earlier this year, Philip Glass announced he was canceling the premiere of his latest symphony, scheduled for June, The Daily Wire reported. The composer said the leadership of the center conflicted with the themes of the symphony, which is about Abraham Lincoln.
Roma Daravi, a spokeswoman for the Trump-Kennedy Center, told The Daily Wire that the center aims for unity and celebration of the arts.
“We have no place for politics in the arts, and those calling for boycotts based on politics are making the wrong decision,” Daravi said. “We have not canceled a single show. Leftist activists are pushing artists to cancel but the public wants artists to perform and create—not cancel under pressure from political insiders that benefit from creating division.”
In December, the board voted to change the center’s name to The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, causing mass uproar from leftists.
Artists have canceled shows before and after the name change. Jazz musician Chuck Redd was criticized for canceling his Christmas Eve performance days before it was supposed to take place. The center said they would seek $1 million in damages for the abrupt cancellation, as The Daily Wire previously reported.
Trump was clear there would be changes to the center when he took over as chairman of the board, writing at the time, “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA.”
