WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 President Donald Trump said Friday that he is firing members of the board of trustees for the Kennedy Center and naming himself chairman.
He also indicated that he would be dictating at one of the nation's premier cultural institutions, specifically declaring that he'd put an end to events featuring performers in drag.
Trump's announcement came as the new president has across official Washington during the first weeks of his second term, trying to shutter federal agencies, freeze spending and ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the government.
鈥淎t my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN. I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture,鈥 Trump wrote on his social media website.
鈥淲e will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!鈥
In a statement late Friday on its website, the Kennedy Center said it was aware of Trump's post. 鈥淲e have received no official communications from the White House regarding changes to our board of trustees,鈥 the statement said. 鈥淲e are aware that some members of our board have received termination notices from the administration.鈥
The statement continued: 鈥淧er the CenterB次元官网网址 governance established by Congress in 1958, the chair of the board of trustees is appointed by the CenterB次元官网网址 board members. There is nothing in the CenterB次元官网网址 statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; however, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy CenterB次元官网网址 board.鈥
Unlike former President and other commanders in chief through the decades, Trump did not attend the annual ceremonies during his first term, held at the performing arts venue in WashingtonB次元官网网址 Foggy Bottom neighborhood that opened in 1971.
Shortly after TrumpB次元官网网址 post, the Kennedy Center website began experiencing technical difficulties. Visitors got a message reading 鈥淲e are experiencing high traffic鈥 and were redirected to a 鈥渨aiting room鈥 that listed how many hundreds of people were trying to access the site ahead of them.
Trump suggested in his post that he would be implementing some changes to the center's performance schedule, noting that last year 鈥渢he Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth 鈥 THIS WILL STOP."
According to its website, the center in July hosted a preshow titled 鈥淎 Drag Salute to Divas鈥 and a November 鈥淒rag Brunch.鈥
In his post, Trump did not clarify which board of trustee members he would be terminating besides the current chairman, philanthropist David Rubenstein. The board often features political powerbrokers and major donors, and is currently made up of members from both sides of the aisle.
Rubenstein was first elected to the post in 2010 and reelected each year since that time. Also, the principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles, Rubenstein was originally appointed to the Kennedy Center board by President George W. Bush and subsequently reappointed by President Barack Obama and Biden.
The current board features BidenB次元官网网址 White House press secretary, , as well as Mike Donilon, BidenB次元官网网址 longtime ally, and Stephanie Cutter, a former Obama adviser. The treasurer of the centerB次元官网网址 board of trustees is television producer , who hosted fundraisers for Biden before he abandoned his reelection bid last summer.
But the current board also features Trump allies, including Pam Bondi, the new presidentB次元官网网址 recently confirmed attorney general, and Lee Greenwood, whose song 鈥淕od Bless the USA,鈥 was the unofficial anthem of TrumpB次元官网网址 presidential campaign.
During his first term in 2019, Trump announced that he was tapping actor Jon Voight, a longtime supporter, to the board, along with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who heB次元官网网址 picked as U.S. ambassador to Israel this time.
___
