Whistleblowers Accuse Kennedy Center Officials of Halting Planned Repairs Later Used to Justify Closure
Whistleblowers say officials canceled $9.3 million in leak repairs, then cited the same water damage to support a closure and $250 million renovation plan.
- On Thursday, former Kennedy Center employees alleged in a letter to Congress that leadership canceled planned roof repairs despite citing those same leaks as an urgent safety risk justifying the building's temporary closure.
- Kennedy Center Director Matt Floca allegedly halted remediation six months ago despite securing $9.3 million in federal funding for the project last year, documents received by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island indicate.
- The letter further reported that the institution diverted $1.4 million previously allocated for waterproofing repairs to finance a $4.4 million project painting the center's exterior columns white, a priority for President Donald Trump.
- In a statement on Friday, the Kennedy Center disputed the claims, asserting that "the safety of our patrons, artists, and staff comes first" and that recent reviews revealed more pronounced structural damage than previously known.
- The controversy unfolds amid ongoing legal challenges from Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty to block the center's closure, while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trump have cited falling plaster as evidence of "completely unsafe conditions.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Whistleblowers accuse Kennedy Center officials of halting planned repairs later used to justify closure
Whistleblowers are alleging that Kennedy Center officials halted plans earlier this year to repair leaks in the building, which the Trump administration has highlighted as its reason to close the storied arts institution.
Whistleblowers cite canceled Kennedy Center repairs before closure | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Former employees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts say that center officials canceled a plan to start overhauling its leaking infrastructure months ago, despite those officials now asserting the leaks pose an urgent safety risk requiring the building to close.
Kennedy Center whistleblowers expose leak fix Trump's chief shelved before shutdown
Former Kennedy Center employees allege that the very leak problem now being used to justify shutting down the arts institution was actually canceled from repair months ago by the same official now citing it as an urgent safety emergency.A lawyer representing the unidentified former staffers sent internal documents and a letter to Congress on Thursday, part of growing scrutiny over President Trump's control of the Washington cultural institution,…
Kennedy Center shelved repairs now cited for closure, whistleblowers say
Former employees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts say that center officials canceled a plan to start overhauling its leaking infrastructure months ago, despite those officials now asserting the leaks pose an urgent safety risk requiring the building to close.
Kennedy Center Whistleblowers Say Officials Halted Repairs Now Cited to Justify Shutdown
Former Kennedy Center employees allege that officials shelved leak repairs months ago, then cited the same problems to justify shutting down the building. The post Kennedy Center Whistleblowers Say Officials Halted Repairs Now Cited to Justify Shutdown first appeared on Mediaite.
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