Richard Grenell Departs After One Year as Kennedy Center President

In Friday’s (3/16) Washington Post, Janay Kingsberry and Kelsey Ables write, “Richard Grenell, the Trump ally installed to lead the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is leaving the post after just over a year at the helm of the cultural institution—ending a turbulent tenure marked by staff departures, artist cancellations and plummeting ticket sales. President Donald Trump on Friday confirmed the leadership change in a Truth Social post, announcing that Matt Floca, the center’s vice president of facilities operations, will succeed Grenell pending board approval. Trump, who plans to close the center in July for a two-year reconstruction project, also posted renderings of the planned renovation, though exterior changes visible in the images appeared to be minor…. The Kennedy Center did not provide additional comment about Grenell’s departure. Grenell, a former ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence, was selected by Trump to lead the Kennedy Center as part of the president’s sweeping leadership overhaul that followed his return to office…. With a background in construction and facilities management, Grenell’s successor, Floca, will steer the institution through the planned reconstruction project…. Grenell did not respond to multiple requests for comment.” The Kennedy Center is the home of the National Symphony Orchestra; on March 12, National Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Jean Davidson announced that she will step down to become executive director and CEO of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles.