Trump will award medals to the Kennedy Center honorees in an Oval Office ceremony

Key Highlights

• But the Republican president instituted a series of changes since returning to office in January, most notably ousting its board of trustees and replacing them with GOP supporters who voted him in as chairman.
• Trump also has criticized the center's programming and its physical appearance, and vowed to overhaul both. The president said in August that he was “about 98% involved” in choosing the 2025 honorees when he personally announced them at the Kennedy Center, the first slate chosen under his leadership.
• The honorees traditionally had been announced by press release.
• It was unclear how they were chosen.
• Before Trump, it fell to a bipartisan selection committee. Suspect arrested in Jan.