Former Kennedy Center employees claim officials halted repairs months prior to closure

Former Kennedy Center employees, through attorney David Seide, told Congress that leadership halted planned waterproofing repairs earlier this year and shared internal documents they say contradict the board’s assertion that recent leaks made the venue immediately unsafe. The board, chaired by President Trump, recently closed the center’s main building citing pervasive leaks; the whistleblowers allege repairs were deprioritized despite $9.3 million in congressional funds.

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Former Kennedy Center employees claim officials halted repairs months prior to closure

Why It Matters

If accurate, the whistleblowers' documents would challenge the board’s public rationale for the sudden closure and raise questions about how allocated federal funds were used. The claims add to ongoing congressional scrutiny and legal disputes over management and spending at the Kennedy Center.

Key Facts

Who sent the letter: David Seide, attorney for former Kennedy Center employees
Recipients: Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Alleged congressional funding: $9.3 million
Board leadership: Board chaired by President Trump
Kennedy Center executive director: Matt Floca

Former Kennedy Center staffers, represented by attorney David Seide, have told congressional committees that planned waterproofing repairs were stopped earlier this year and provided internal documents they say undercut the board’s explanation for a recent temporary closure. The board, chaired by President Trump, last week ordered the main building closed to evaluate renovation needs, saying the facility was unsafe because of leaks.

Seide’s letter asserts that Floca had known about leakage problems for years and that the center received $9.3 million from Congress to address such issues, but that the repairs were not treated as high priority. The attorney also alleges that congressionally appropriated funds earmarked for repairs were redirected to carry out cosmetic work requested by Trump, including repainting the building’s columns white.

Floca disputed the whistleblowers’ account in a statement provided to The Hill, saying center leadership only became aware this summer of how extensively the leaks had spread inside the roof overhang. He added that an earlier roof repair plan was delayed because the lowest contractor bid exceeded projected costs by more than $500,000 and that the work is being handled as part of a broader development plan rather than being canceled outright.

The disclosure has prompted further oversight activity. Seide’s materials were sent to both the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the senior Democrat on the Senate committee and an ex-officio Kennedy Center board member, wrote separately to Floca criticizing the center’s decisions and setting an Oct. 8 deadline for responses to the whistleblower findings. The allegations come amid a legal challenge from Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) and follow earlier disputes over Trump-era changes at the center, including a blocked effort to close the venue for two years for renovations and discussions of demolishing the building if planned construction is not permitted.