A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Vance attended Thursday's performance by the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the Kennedy Center's flagship groups. The ensemble, under the baton of its music director, Gianandrea Noseda, performed Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 2, with Leonidas Kavakos as the soloist. After an intermission, the orchestra played Stravinsky's "Petrushka."
The Vances stayed for the entire concert, audience members said. Usha Vance was recently appointed by Trump to serve as a board member at the Kennedy Center, alongside other Trump allies like Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff; and Laura Ingraham, the Fox News host.
The concert started about 20 minutes late because of added security measures, audience members said.
Roma Daravi, a spokesperson for the Kennedy Center, said she had no comment on the episode.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
In February, Trump ousted the Kennedy Center's longtime chair, financier David M. Rubenstein, the center's largest donor. His new board of loyalists elected Trump as chair and fired Deborah F. Rutter, the center's president for more than a decade. At least three other top staff members were also dismissed.
Performers, including actress Issa Rae and musician Rhiannon Giddens, have dropped out in protest amid fears that Trump's calls to rid the center of "woke" influences, drag shows and "anti-American propaganda" would result in a reshaping of programming. The producers of the musical "Hamilton" recently scrapped a planned staging there next year.