President Donald Trump was made chair of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, he announced Wednesday, cementing his grip on an institution that he recently purged of Biden appointees.

The center’s longtime president, Deborah F. Rutter, was then fired from her position, the center said. Richard Grenell, a Trump loyalist who was ambassador to Germany during the first Trump administration, was appointed the center’s interim president.

Trump posted on social media: “It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees. We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!”

Grenell visited the center Wednesday, according to an official there.

The center on Wednesday announced a new slate of board members — all appointed by Trump — and said in a statement that the new board elected Trump chair and “terminated” Rutter’s contract.

Trump’s actions prompted an outcry in the cultural world.

Superstar soprano Renée Fleming said Wednesday that she would step down as an artistic adviser to the center. She praised the center’s departing leaders and said that “out of respect, I think it right to depart as well.”

“I’ve treasured the bipartisan support for this institution as a beacon of America at our best,” Fleming said in a statement. “I hope the Kennedy Center continues to flourish and serve the passionate and diverse audience in our nation’s capital and across the country.”

She was not the only high-profile departure. Shonda Rhimes, who had been treasurer of the Kennedy Center, resigned from the board, a spokesperson for Rhimes said.

And singer-songwriter Ben Folds said he would also resign his post as an adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra, which is overseen by the Kennedy Center.

“Given developments at the Kennedy Center, effective today I am resigning as artistic adviser to the NSO,” Folds wrote on Instagram. “Mostly, and above all, I will miss the musicians of our nation’s symphony orchestra — just the best!”

Rutter said in a statement about her departure that it had been the honor of her career to lead the institution, which, in addition to a performing arts center, is a memorial to former President John F. Kennedy. She did not describe being fired.

“The goal of the Kennedy Center has been to live up to our namesake, serving as a beacon for the world and ensuring our work reflects America,” she said. “I depart my position proud of all we accomplished to meet that ambition. From the art on our stages to the students we have impacted in classrooms across America, everything we have done at the Kennedy Center has been about uplifting the human spirit in service of strengthening the culture of our great nation.”