The article reports that President Trump has taken over the board of the Kennedy Center by installing himself as chair, marking a politically motivated intervention in a prominent cultural institution. This move is seen as an authoritarian act that undermines the independence of the Kennedy Center.

Kennedy Center reportedly laid off seven staffers from its Social Impact team, effectively dismantling a DEI initiative established to leverage the arts for advancing social justice and equity. This move undermines the Center’s commitment to supporting diverse and marginalized communities.

The Kennedy Center has laid off five members of its social impact team and signaled further layoffs amid an overall workforce reduction. This move follows significant leadership changes, including the replacement of board members by appointees of former President Donald Trump. The social impact team, which was responsible for promoting justice, equity, and diverse programming—including initiatives to support Black composers and other marginalized voices—is being dismantled, raising concerns over the center's commitment to worker rights and social justice.

On March 18, 2025, the Trump administration took over the Kennedy Center by installing Richard Grenell as president. Grenell, associated with far‐right politics and controversial figures, has overseen the cancellation of progressive arts programming including events supporting drag culture and LGBTQ artists, reflecting an authoritarian interference in a traditionally independent cultural institution.

In a controversial board reorganization last month, President Donald Trump replaced Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter, Chairman David M. Rubenstein, and all Joe Biden-appointed trustees with his own picks—naming himself Chairman. This move raises concerns about the politicization of a national cultural institution.

President Trump purged the Kennedy Center’s board of all Biden appointees, installed himself as chairman, and fired long-serving president Deborah Rutter, in a move that signals an authoritarian restructuring aimed at eliminating 'woke' influences from the institution.

On February 12, 2025, President Trump purged half of the board trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and then consolidated power by installing himself as the board's chair. This move, which replaced experienced leadership and disrupted the institution's historical nonpartisan governance, reflects a troubling intervention that politicizes a national cultural hub.

In February 2025, the Kennedy Center underwent a politically charged restructuring as a new board, chaired by a sitting president’s appointee, took control, firing longtime president Deborah Rutter, and leading to the cancellation of diverse and inclusive performances including the disinviting of groups like the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. This move signals a shift toward an authoritarian, profit-driven, and ideologically narrow agenda.