Trump Names Richard Grenell Interim Executive Director of Kennedy Center

Ambassador Richard Grenell in Belgrade, Serbia, on Jan. 24, 2020. Darko Vojinovic/AP Photo

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he has selected Richard Grenell to become the interim executive director of the John F. Kennedy Center. Grenell is currently serving as an envoy for special missions.

Trump said he would name himself as the chair and planned to announce a new board for the Kennedy Center soon.

“Ric shares my vision for a GOLDEN AGE of American Arts and Culture, and will be overseeing the daily operations of the Center,” the president stated in a social media post.

In his statement, Trump signaled that he aims to eliminate “drag shows, or other anti-American propaganda” from programs hosted by the Washington-based cultural center.

Grenell previously served as the U.S. ambassador to Germany, acting director of national intelligence, and special envoy for negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia during Trump’s first presidential term.

Trump tapped him as a presidential envoy for special missions in December 2024, saying that Grenell “will work in some of the hottest spots around the world, including Venezuela and North Korea.” Last month, the president praised him for his efforts to secure the release of six U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela.

Grenell’s appointment at the Kennedy Center came just days after Trump announced on Feb. 7 that he would remove the board’s current chairman, David Rubenstein, and several other board members who do not align with his administration’s vision “for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”

“At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. GREAT AGAIN,” the president stated. “Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP. The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation.”

The Kennedy Center later issued a statement saying that it had not received any official communications from the White House regarding changes to its board of trustees, although it acknowledged that some of its board members had received termination notices from the Trump administration.

According to the center, the chair of board trustees has been appointed by its board members since the center was established by Congress in 1958.

“There is nothing in the Center’s statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; however, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Center’s board,” it stated.

Shortly after Trump’s announcement, the Kennedy Center website appeared to experience technical issues, redirecting visitors to a webpage displaying the number of users ahead of them.

Unlike previous presidents, Trump did not attend the annual Kennedy Center Honors ceremonies during his first term in 2017. The White House said at the time that Trump decided to skip the event to “allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction.”

Rubenstein, co-founder of the global investment company Carlyle, was approved by the board members to serve as chair until September 2026. He was first elected to chair the center in 2010 and reelected each year since that time.

The Kennedy Center announced last month that Deborah Rutter, who has served as its president since 2014, will step down at the end of this year and that the board has begun searching for her replacement.

Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has taken sweeping executive actions on various federal agencies to reduce federal spending and downsize the workforce except for those handling essential duties.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.