The president will announce this year's honorees Wednesday. Employees say George Strait, Kiss and Michael Crawford are among the names being considered.

In February, Trump led an overhaul of the Kennedy Center's leadership by dismissing the previously-appointed Board of Trustees, along with longtime Kennedy Center chair David Rubenstein. Deborah Rutter, who served as president of the cultural center for over a decade, was also ousted.

President Donald Trump appeared to be embracing renaming the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington after himself in comments about the Kennedy Center Honors awards. “GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER,