Richard Grenell Steps Down as Kennedy Center President; Trump Names Replacement

Trump also shared renderings of what a renovated Kennedy Center will look like.

March 13, 2026 By Diep Tran

Another Kennedy Center official has announced they're leaving the Washington, D.C. institution. Richard Grenell, who was appointed by President Trump last year to lead the performing arts center, will be stepping down. Trump announced Grenell's departure via Truth social, as well as the news that Matt Floca, currently the venue's vice president of facilities operations, will replace Grenell.

Wrote Trump: "I am pleased to announce that Matt Floca, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, will be named the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, of THE TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER where, as Vice President of Operations, Matt has helped us achieve tremendous progress in bringing the Center to the highest level of Excellence! ... 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 also wrote that he still plans to shut down the Kennedy Center for two years beginning July 4 for renovations. He then shared renderings of "the new, highly improved" Kennedy Center; the building looks largely the same in the new images.

A rendering of the remodeled Kennedy Center. (@RealDonaldTrump / Truth Social)

Insiders told CNN that Trump had soured on Grenell in recent months, due to the negative headlines about the Kennedy Center, and Trump feeling like his appointee wasn't properly managing the institution's publicity.

Grenell, who Trump once appointed to be the U.S. ambassador to Germany, had been a vocal defender of the Kennedy Center after Trump's takeover. He even threatened to sue jazz musician Chuck Redd for being one of the many artists who have cancelled their engagements at the Kennedy Center.

But since Trump took over the institution last year, replacing the board members and the institution's president with his own loyalists, a wave of negative headlines have followed. In December when the Kennedy Center's board voted to rename the institution the Trump Kennedy Center, outcry followed as members of Congress called the move illegal (an official renaming of federally funded institution requires Congressional approval).

Many artists have cancelled their engagements there, including the national tour of Hamilton, Renée Fleming, Issa Rae, and Philip Glass (who was going to premiere his newest symphonic work there). The Kennedy Center's longtime resident company, the Washington National Opera, also severed its ties—electing to perform elsewhere.

As a result, ticket sales have fallen sharply and the institution has had a hard time holding onto personnel. Recently, the executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra, Jean Davidson, announced she was departing. In January, the center hired Kevin Couch, as its senior vice president of artistic programming; Couch resigned less than two weeks after he was announced.

The web domain for the Kennedy Center remains Kennedy-Center.org.