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Trump Visits Kennedy Center for First Time Since Taking It Over

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Trump Visits Kennedy Center for First Time Since Taking It Over

President Trump visited the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Monday for the first time since he stunned the cultural and political establishment nearly five weeks ago by taking over the institution.

Mr. Trump made himself chairman of the center’s board last month after dismissing all of the Biden-era appointees, upending a bipartisan tradition that had endured for decades. He planned to preside over a board meeting, and tour the center with a “business developer mind,” said Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary.

“I’m sure he will make some recommendations on how the center itself can be improved,” Ms. Leavitt said at a news briefing on Monday, “but also we’ll be discussing perhaps some future plays and musicals and theatrical programs that the center will be hosting under his new leadership.”

At the board meeting on Monday, Mr. Trump planned to push through a resolution giving him more oversight of the selection of artists and performers recognized at the annual Kennedy Center Honors program. The awards ceremony, an annual star-studded gala that is televised on CBS, is the institution’s most important fund-raiser of the year.

In 2017, early in his first term, several honorees criticized Mr. Trump. He boycotted the show that year and for the remainder of his term, breaking with tradition.

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Now, after changes that will likely be approved on Monday, Mr. Trump will have the power to hire and fire members of the committee that helps decide who will receive the honor. Since the program began in 1978, honorees have been chosen without White House interference.

Ahead of the president’s visit several portraits had been hung on the center’s walls showing Mr. Trump; the first lady, Melania Trump; and Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance.

It is not clear what kind of artists Mr. Trump would like to see honored at the Kennedy Center. He has shown an affinity for stars like Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight, all of whom have supported Mr. Trump and whom he recently appointed as ambassadors to Hollywood. His supporters include musicians like Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood, whom Mr. Trump appointed to the Kennedy Center’s board.

Since Mr. Trump took over the Kennedy Center, several prominent events were canceled there in protest, including the musical “Hamilton,” which scrapped a planned tour there next year.

Mr. Trump and his aides have suggested that the Kennedy Center’s previous leaders left the institution in poor financial health and in a state of disrepair.

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The center, like other federally owned properties, has deferred some maintenance on its building because of budget constraints. The center receives only a small portion of its $268 million budget — about $43 million, or 16 percent — from the federal government. That money is not spent on programming but is earmarked for operations, maintenance and repairs of the property.

The Kennedy Center’s board is now made up of more than 30 of Mr. Trump’s allies, including his chief of staff, Susie Wiles; the attorney general, Pam Bondi; and the Fox News commentator Maria Bartiromo.

It remains to be seen whether Mr. Trump’s team can raise enough revenue through ticket sales and private donations to keep the Kennedy Center running at its current size. The center stages more than 2,000 performances each year.

When he took over the center last month, Mr. Trump ousted the 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.

He installed a loyalist, Richard Grenell, a former ambassador to Germany, as the center’s president. Mr. Grenell recently brought on Donna Arduin Kauranen as chief financial officer. She has served in a number of budget and finance roles for former Republican governors, including Jeb Bush in Florida, Arnold Schwarzenegger in California and George E. Pataki in New York.

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In a prelude to Mr. Trump’s appearance on Monday, Mr. and Ms. Vance visited the Kennedy Center on Thursday for a concert by the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the center’s main ensembles.

The Vances were loudly booed while taking their seats, and a video of the incident circulated widely on social media. Mr. Grenell denounced the episode, saying: “Diversity is our strength. We must do better. We must welcome EVERYONE. We will not allow the Kennedy Center to be an intolerant place.”

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Republican House leader signals plan to begin contempt proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton

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Republican House leader signals plan to begin contempt proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton

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GOP House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said he plans to commence contempt of Congress proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton for ignoring the committee’s subpoenas related to its ongoing probe into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. 

In July, a bipartisan House Oversight Subcommittee approved motions to subpoena Bill and Hillary Clinton and a slew of other high-profile political figures to aid its investigation looking into how the federal government handled Epstein’s sex trafficking case. 

The subpoenas were then sent out in early August, and the Clinton’s were scheduled to testify Dec. 17-18. 

“It has been more than four months since Bill and Hillary Clinton were subpoenaed to sit for depositions related to our investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s horrific crimes. Throughout that time, the former president and former secretary of state have delayed, obstructed, and largely ignored the committee staff’s efforts to schedule their testimony,” Comer said in a press release issued Friday evening.

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DOJ CLEARED TO RELEASE SECRET JEFFREY EPSTEIN CASE GRAND JURY MATERIALS

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton.  (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

“If the Clintons fail to appear for their depositions next week or schedule a date for early January, the Oversight Committee will begin contempt of Congress proceedings to hold them accountable.”

Comer’s threats come as Democrats from the House Oversight Committee released a new batch of photos obtained from Epstein’s estate, which included further images of the disgraced financier with powerful figures like President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton. Thousands of images were reportedly released, with potentially more to come.

Other high-profile figures subpoenaed by the Oversight Committee include James Comey, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Robert Mueller, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales.

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FEDERAL JUDGE APPROVES RELEASING GHISLAINE MAXWELL CASE GRAND JURY MATERIAL

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Jeffrey Epstein. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Neil Rasmus/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

In addition to testimony from these individuals, Comer and the Oversight Committee issued subpoenas to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for all documents and communications pertaining to the case against Epstein.

In September, the committee released tens of thousands of pages of Epstein-related records in compliance with the subpoena, and the Oversight Committee indicated the DOJ would continue producing even more records as it works through needed redactions and other measures that must occur before they are released.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Jeffrey Epstein and President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)

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Kristi Noem grilled over L.A. Purple Heart Army vet who self-deported

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Kristi Noem grilled over L.A. Purple Heart Army vet who self-deported

The saga of a Los Angeles Army veteran who legally immigrated to the United States, was wounded in combat and self-deported to South Korea earlier this year, became a flashpoint during a testy congressional hearing about the Trump administration’s immigration policy.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was grilled Thursday on Capitol Hill about military veterans deported during the immigration crackdown launched earlier this year, including in Los Angeles.

“Sir, we have not deported U.S. citizens or military veterans,” Noem responded when questioned by Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.).

Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) speaks during a hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security on Thursday. He was joined on a video call by Sae Joon Park, a U.S. military veteran who self-deported to South Korea.

(Mark Schiefelbein / Associated Press)

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An aide then held up a tablet showing a Zoom connection with Purple Heart recipient Sae Joon Park in South Korea. The congressman argued that Park had “sacrificed more for this country than most people ever have” and asked Noem if she would investigate Park’s case, given her discretion as a Cabinet member. Noem pledged to “absolutely look at his case.”

Park, reached in Seoul on Thursday night, said he was skeptical that Noem would follow through on her promise, but said that he had “goosebumps” watching the congressional hearing.

“It was amazing. And then I’m getting tons of phone calls from all my friends back home and everywhere else. I’m so very grateful for everything that happened today,” Park, 56, said, noting that friends told him that a clip of his story appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show Thursday night.

The late-night host featured footage of Park’s moment in the congressional hearing in his opening monologue.

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“Is anyone OK with this? Seriously, all kidding aside, we deported a veteran with a Purple Heart?” Kimmel said, adding that Republicans “claim to care so much about veterans, but they don’t at all.”

Park legally immigrated to the United States when he was 7, grew up in Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley, and joined the Army after graduating from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks in 1988.

Sae Joon Park

Sae Joon Park received a Purple Heart while serving in the Army.

(From Sae Joon Park)

The green card holder was deployed to Panama in 1989 as the U.S. tried to depose the nation’s de facto leader, Gen. Manuel Noriega. Park was shot twice and honorably discharged. Suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, he self-medicated with illicit drugs, went to prison after jumping bail on drug possession charges, became sober and raised two children in Hawaii.

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Earlier this year, when Park checked in for his annual meeting with federal officials to verify his sobriety and employment, he was given the option of being immediately detained and deported, or wearing an ankle monitor for three weeks as he got his affairs in order before leaving the country for a decade.

At the time, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Park had an “extensive criminal history” and had been given a final removal order, with the option to self-deport.

Park chose to leave the country voluntarily. He initially struggled to acclimate in a nation he hasn’t lived in since he was a child, but said Thursday night that his mental state — and his Korean-language skills — have improved.

“It hasn’t been easy. Of course, I miss home like crazy,” he said. “I’m doing the best I can. I’m usually a very positive person, so I feel like everything happens for a reason, and I’m just trying to hang in there until hopefully I make it back home.”

Among Park’s top concerns when he left the United States in June was that his mother, who is 86 and struggling with dementia, would die while he couldn’t return to the county. But her lack of awareness about his situation has been somewhat of a strange blessing, Park said.

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“She really doesn’t know I’m even here. So every time I talk to her, she’s like, ‘Oh, where are you?’ And I tell her, and she’s like, ‘Oh, when are you coming home? Oh, why are you there?’” Park said. “In a weird way, it’s kind of good because she doesn’t have to worry about me all the time. But at the same time, I would love to be next to her while she’s going through this.”

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Video: Trump Signs A.I. Executive Order

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Video: Trump Signs A.I. Executive Order

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Trump Signs A.I. Executive Order

Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that would limit individual states in regulating the artificial intelligence industry.

“It’s a big part of the economy. There’s only going to be one winner here, and that’s probably going to be the U.S. or China. You have to have a central source of approval. When they need approvals on things, they have to come to one source. They can’t go to California, New York.” “We’re not going to push back on all of them. For example, kids’ safety — we’re going to protect. We’re not pushing back on that. But we’re going to push back on the most onerous examples of state regulations.”

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Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that would limit individual states in regulating the artificial intelligence industry.

By Shawn Paik

December 11, 2025

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