A Democratic senator has alleged that whistleblowers have detailed several problems stemming from rushed or improper reconstruction of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as President Donald Trump tried to seize control of it and its name.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is seen, as its sign remains covered by a tarp, Friday, June 19, 2026, in Washington.
FILE – New signage, The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, is unveiled on the Kennedy Center, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is seen, as its sign remains covered by a tarp, Friday, June 19, 2026, in Washington.
A Democratic senator on Saturday alleged that whistleblowers have detailed several problems stemming from rushed or improper reconstruction of the Kennedy Center, adding a new layer to the travails of the arts complex as President Donald Trump tried to seize control of it and its name. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island said in a release on Saturday that he had received a whistleblower disclosure from the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit whistleblower protection group, alleging that “the Center rushed a series of renovations driven by the President’s aesthetic whims and his desire to star in a series of televised events in December.
” “The Center’s subservience to the President’s desires and its corner-cutting contracting practices have resulted in steel columns that are rusting through fresh paint, a reflecting pool that may have to be torn out and rebuilt, and a brand-new bathroom floor torn out over an offending tile color,” Whitehouse continued.
“This is waste, and it treats a national memorial to President Kennedy as if it were a private renovation project. ”Trump seized control of the arts and culture venue, named after former President John F. Kennedy, at the beginning of his second term. TrumpDemocrats sued to remove it and a federal judge ruled Trump’s name must come off the venue, which had been wracked with boycotts by artists during the turmoil.
He tried toWhitehouse released a letter he wrote to the center’s executive director, Matt Floca, demanding answers by July 23. He said the whistleblower report included “firsthand accounts of multiple former Center project managers, supported by contemporaneous documents and photographs. ” He also included an 83-page appendix full of internal center documents, emails and photos of apparently shoddy construction.
The allegations include that the center rushed work before it was authorized by Congress because it wanted it to be complete for Trump to accept the new FIFA Peace Prize that the soccer federation awarded him. In doing so, the letter alleges the center didn’t follow required contracting guidelines and wasted money replacing a bathroom because the president didn’t like the color and inked no-bid contracts.
One $8 million contract to replace the concert hall’s floor went to a firm with no experience in concert halls, Whitehouse contended.
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