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The Kennedy Center has begun a wave of staff layoffs, following Donald Trump’s decision to shutter the prominent Washington, D.C. institution for a two-year renovation.
The workforce reductions have affected a double-digit number of employees across several core departments, The Washington Post reported. Affected divisions include programming, development, advertising, marketing and the office of the president.
Among those dismissed were Nick Meade and Rick Loughery, according to staff members who spoke to The Post. Both had been installed in senior leadership positions by Richard Grenell, the Trump-appointed official overseeing the center’s current transition.
Roma Daravi, the center’s vice president of public relations, confirmed the moves in an email to The Post, stating that “staffing decisions will support the broader move toward a successful closure for renovations.”
The facility is slated to begin construction in early July to reopen in 2028.
In a February email to workers obtained by The Post, Grenell detailed the anticipated impact of what he called a “total renovation.” He warned that departments would be scaled down or “totally reduced” during the construction phase.
“During this aggressive construction phase, departments will obviously function on a much smaller scale with some units totally reduced or on hold until we begin preparations to reopen in 2028,” Grenell wrote. “This period will mean permanent or temporary adjustments for most everyone. We will provide as much clarity and advance notice as possible.”
Internal staff members have expressed significant concern regarding the justification for the closure.
One anonymous employee told The Post that “the language of ‘renovation’ masks a leadership failure that has driven down ticket sales, donor confidence, and artistic participation.”
The staffer characterized the situation as a “self-inflicted” crisis.
“What’s being presented as a renovation is, in practice, a dismantling,” the staffer said.
Another staffer described the situation as “stupid and cruel.”
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The Trump administration maintains that the closure is a logical response to $250 million in deferred maintenance resulting from “decades of gross negligence.”
During a February press briefing in the Oval Office, Trump insisted he was “not ripping down” the memorial.
“I’ll be using the steel,” the president told reporters. “So we’re using the structure.”
This project is the latest move by the president to exert influence over the cultural landmark, which serves as a living memorial to John F. Kennedy.
Since the start of his term, Trump has replaced board members appointed by Democratic predecessors with loyalists, who subsequently voted to name him chairman.
The center has also been rebranded to include the president’s name on its website and physical structure. These changes follow other significant architectural interventions in the capital, such as the demolition of the White House East Wing to facilitate the construction of a new ballroom.
