Kennedy Center Begins Layoffs as Trump-Backed Two-Year Closure Plan Advances
Staff reductions have begun at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., as President Donald Trump’s plan to shutter the institution for two years heads toward implementation.
According to a Washington Post report, the Kennedy Center started laying off employees on Thursday, with workers saying multiple departments were affected. The cuts are tied to a two-year closure for renovations that the Kennedy Center board approved earlier this month. Trump has said the shutdown would begin July 4.
Two senior executives were included in the layoffs: executive vice president Nick Meade and vice president Rick Loughery. Both were installed under former Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell, a Trump loyalist hired about a year ago to overhaul what he characterized as the institution’s “woke” programming.
Grenell’s tenure became a flashpoint in a broader political struggle over the country’s most prominent federally chartered performing arts venue. It was marked by public backlash and slumping ticket sales, and earlier this month Trump and the board replaced him with Matt Floca.
The current round of cuts follows a year-long sequence of upheavals that began in February 2025, when Trump announced plans to remove existing Kennedy Center board members, including then-chairman David Rubenstein, and replace them with allies. In December, Trump renamed the venue the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a move that prompted protests and a wave of cancellations by performers and organizations.
Among those who withdrew were composer Philip Glass and the Washington National Opera, underscoring the reputational stakes for an institution that relies on a mix of ticket revenue, private philanthropy, and public support.
Last month, amid the continuing fallout from those cancellations, Trump announced the Kennedy Center would close for two years for renovations. Preservation groups have since filed suit against Trump and the board, as well as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, seeking to block the planned renovation.
More than 100 Kennedy Center employees have left or been laid off since Trump’s takeover, according to the report. This latest round is notable for including figures associated with the Grenell era, marking the first time that Trump supporters have been swept up in the staff cuts. Additional layoffs and furloughs are expected as the closure date approaches.
The staffing shakeup adds another layer of uncertainty for the Kennedy Center’s near-term operations and long-term identity, as legal challenges and leadership changes converge on one of Washington’s most visible cultural stages.
