Trump announced that former acting DNI director Richard Grenell would lead the Kennedy Center. Board members received termination letters and their names were removed from the center’s website.

The president solidified his grip on the performing arts complex as the center’s longtime president, Deborah F. Rutter, was fired.

President Donald Trump named foreign policy adviser and loyalist Richard Grenell interim executive director of the Kennedy Center on Monday, days after appointing himself chair, solidifying his control over the iconic American cultural institution.