When President Trump was criticized by some of the artists who were recognized at the annual Kennedy Center Honors program during his first term, he responded by boycotting the show, breaking with decades of precedent.
Now, as he leads a sweeping takeover of the Kennedy Center in his second term, Mr. Trump is seeking changes that will allow him greater sway in the selection of honorees, according to two people briefed on the matter who were granted anonymity to describe confidential discussions.
Mr. Trump, who is now the chairman of the Kennedy Center, is scheduled to speak at a meeting of its board on Monday afternoon, when proposed changes to the honors advisory committee will be on the agenda, according to the individuals and a copy of the agenda that was obtained by The New York Times.
Since 1978, the Kennedy Center has named honorees to be recognized each year at a star-studded televised gala without interference from the White House. The center has honored a broad spectrum of artists and performers, including Lucille Ball, Dolly Parton, Clint Eastwood, Fred Astaire and the Grateful Dead.
But Mr. Trump is seeking a more direct role. He replaced all the Biden appointees on the center’s once-bipartisan board, was elected chairman and installed a loyalist, Richard Grenell, as its president. The board is scheduled to meet Monday to consider a resolution, which has not been previously reported, that would give Mr. Trump more control over the selection of honorees.
The resolution states that members of the committee responsible for selecting honorees “shall be appointed by the chairman of the board, and shall serve at the pleasure of the chairman,” according to a copy obtained by The Times. That would give Mr. Trump broad power to hire and fire those who help decide who will receive the honor, which recognizes people and institutions for lifetime artistic achievement. The committee will recommend a slate of honorees to the Kennedy Center’s president for approval, the resolution says.
In the past, Kennedy Center officials chose the members of the committee responsible for proposing honorees after receiving recommendations from former honorees, the board, the arts community and the general public. Last year, the committee was chaired by the philanthropist David C. Bohnett and included board members, Kennedy Center officials and artists, including Gloria Estefan, Sally Field, Renée Fleming, Herbie Hancock, Judith Jamison, Lionel Richie and John Williams.
It is not clear what Mr. Trump has in mind for the committee, or what kind of artists he would like to see honored at the Kennedy Center. Since the start of his second term, he has turned to stars like Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight to serve as envoys to Hollywood.
The Kennedy Center declined to discuss the upcoming board meeting or the resolution to change the honors process.
Mr. Grenell said in a statement that “the financial situation at the Kennedy Center is a serious problem that has been hidden from the public for too long, and so Donald Trump is committed to putting the Kennedy Center on a solid financial foundation by having programming that appeals to everyone, not just a few.”
Officials at the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday afternoon.
Mr. Trump has a stormy history with the Kennedy Center Honors, the institution’s most important fund-raiser of the year, which is televised on CBS and includes a White House reception ahead of the awards. Several of the artists who were honored in 2017, early in the first Trump administration, criticized Mr. Trump and suggested that they would boycott the White House reception. After that Mr. Trump broke with tradition and stayed away from the honors galas for his entire term.
At the start of his second term, Mr. Trump set his sights once again on the Kennedy Center. He ousted the center’s longtime chairman, the financier David M. Rubenstein, the center’s largest donor, and fired Deborah F. Rutter, the center’s president for more than a decade.
Mr. Trump’s push to expand his influence over the Honors program is part of a broader campaign to reshape the Kennedy Center’s cultural identity. Promising a “Golden Age in Arts and Culture,” Mr. Trump has vowed to rid the center of “woke” influences, drag shows and “anti-American propaganda.” He has appointed close allies to the board, including his chief of staff, Susie Wiles; Laura Ingraham, the Fox News host; and Dan Scavino, a longtime aide.
While Mr. Trump’s plans for the center are still taking shape, Mr. Grenell, a former ambassador to Germany who is serving as the center’s interim president, has said the center intends to host a “a big, huge celebration of the birth of Christ at Christmas.”
Mr. Trump’s actions have prompted an outcry from artists and patrons of the Kennedy Center. Several prominent figures, including the actress Issa Rae and the musician Rhiannon Giddens, have canceled engagements at the center in protest. The musical “Hamilton” recently scrapped a planned tour there next year.
Vice President JD Vance and the second lady, Usha Vance, whom Mr. Trump also appointed to the board, were loudly booed while attending a concert on Thursday by the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the center’s flagship ensembles.
