Whitehouse seeks answers on Kennedy Center renovation claims

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is pressing the Kennedy Center for documents after whistleblowers alleged that renovation work at the national performing arts center was rushed, poorly managed and steered around contracting rules to meet President Donald Trump’s preferences and deadlines for televised events.

In a letter dated Thursday to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Rhode Island Democrat said he had received allegations that the center carried out renovation and maintenance work “with disregard to its commitments to Congress and the federal contracting standards the Center has long applied to its own procurements.”

Whitehouse said the allegations came through a whistleblower disclosure submitted by the Government Accountability Project and were based on “the firsthand accounts of multiple former Center project managers, supported by contemporaneous documents and photographs.” He said the material describes conduct “sharply at odds” with the center’s procurement standards and its representations to Congress.

The allegations include claims that a cosmetic revamp of the Kennedy Center’s Reflecting Pool is already rusting and peeling and may need to be fully rebuilt; that Trump’s preferred contractor cut corners repainting the center’s columns; that an $8 million no-bid flooring contract went to a firm with no apparent concert-hall experience; and that a brand-new bathroom floor was torn out because Trump disliked the tile color.

Whitehouse also said whistleblowers alleged that the center rewrote its own contracting rules after the fact to justify no-bid contracts used to speed the work.

“These are not isolated lapses but a single pattern that runs counter to everything the Center has told Congress it would do with the public’s money,” Whitehouse wrote, according to Al Jazeera.

The renovations were tied in part to December events at the Kennedy Center, including the FIFA World Cup draw hosted by Trump, where he received the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize from FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and the Kennedy Center Honors two days later. Trump hosted that ceremony and said he was “very involved” in selecting honorees.

“Instead of pursuing renovations tailored to the building’s actual needs, 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,” Whitehouse wrote. “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.”

“This is waste, and it treats a national memorial to President Kennedy as if it were a private renovation project,” he added.

Al Jazeera reported that Whitehouse’s letter said painting of the columns began in August “with no written contract in place,” with a $4.4 million deal awarded afterward, and that repairs are estimated to cost $1.5 million. The outlet also reported that the disclosure said center officials worked “in unusually close consultation” with Trump’s White House and that management told staff, “We’ll deal with the lawsuits later.”

Whitehouse, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, requested documents and answers from the center’s executive director by July 23.

The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to The Guardian’s request for comment Saturday. In a statement to The New York Times, the center defended its practices, saying it operates with rigorous financial oversight and that claims that contracting standards had been bypassed were not correct.

“As America’s cultural center, the institution makes every decision guided by responsible stewardship and an unwavering commitment to its patrons and the nation it proudly serves,” spokesperson Roma Daravi said. “We remain fully committed to transparency and to delivering the critical improvements that will preserve this institution for generations to come.”

The White House also did not immediately respond to The Guardian. In a statement to The New York Times, a White House spokesperson blamed previous Kennedy Center leadership for allowing the center to fall into disrepair. “President Trump did what Democrats wouldn’t,” the spokesperson said. “After decades of neglect, he committed the bold leadership and proper resources to fix the Kennedy Center and start the renovations of the finest performing arts facility in the world.”

Congress approved $257 million last year for Kennedy Center repairs and restoration. Rep. Rick Larsen, the senior Democrat on the House infrastructure committee, called the allegations “serious and concerning” and said trustees should ensure the money is used for “legitimate, necessary repairs instead of cosmetic nickel and dime fixes that don’t last.”