Ric Grenell steps down as president of Kennedy Center

On Friday, Trump announced the change in a post on Truth Social, saying that Matt Floca, who served as the center’s vice president of facilities operations, will take Grennell’s place. Trump also posted renderings of his planned renovations of the center, which is expected to close in July for 2 years of construction.

“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 wrote in his post.

Last year, Trump fired a number of Kennedy Center board members, selecting himself as the board’s chairman. Grenell was later selected as president of the center. During his tenure, ticket sales decreased, and Senate Democrats carried out an investigation into the center’s spending practices.

Grenell, meanwhile, blamed previous leadership for poor financial decisions and said changes by the Trump administration were necessary. The Trump team has stated that the center is in poor condition and needs repairs, including issues such as rat infestations and broken amenities.

“The books were a mess when I walked in. We were paying staff with debt reserves, we didn’t have money in the bank,” Grenell said last November. “We’ve cleaned up the programming so it’s ‘common-sense’ programming.”

Grenell’s replacement, Matt Floca, has a background in construction and facilities management. Some staff members are more optimistic about his leadership, according to the Washington Post, since he joined the center in 2024.

When Floca was hired in May 2024, the Kennedy Center said, “His devotion to improving properties across the District of Columbia’s portfolio of public buildings has resulted in a comprehensive understanding of the built environment and efficient building management practices.”