Sen. Whitehouse announces whistleblower allegations of construction problems at Kennedy Center

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: PBS News/AP

Jul 11, 2026 6:14 PM EDT


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."

The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/sen-whitehouse-announces-whistleblower-allegations-of-construction-problems-at-kennedy-center

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Link to Sen. Whitehouse PRESS RELEASE - Whitehouse Expands Investigation into Alleged Mismanagement of Federal Funding by Kennedy Center Leadership Amid Reports of Shoddy Work on Center’s Reflecting Pool and Other Building Elements

Link to LETTER (PDF) - https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/8/5/85852c84-59f4-48b1-a9a6-13a091ec75aa/81F3FAD8622463D530F2A1B58848D11006736823EA15737224A29D0ACEBCE1AB.7.9.26-letter-to-kennedy-center-re-facilities.pdf

Link to APPENDIX (PDF) - https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/8/4/8448a2ae-39e0-43d2-9946-4f3c8259dab0/810D2DCDC5D8FE5588F2892597C959AE8CE5731648BC61E7D580FA9BA273F6AE.appendix-gap-disclosure.pdf

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Why does everything have to be done at lightning speed, over-priced, and shoddy?

This is a pattern.

[NoMoreRepugs]

2. Maybe TrumpenFuhrer has learned something in his frequent visits to Walter Reed??

We can only HOPE.

[jls4561]

5. Trump's contractor of choice, Kickbacks R US, works no other way.

[Karasu]

6. Literally how he's done everything over the course of his entire life.

[erronis]

3. Since trump's goal is to besmirch everything in DC, why not invite his rioters/insurrectionists

to come visit the Kennedy Center as tourists.

As he did to the Capitol.
As he did to the White House lawns.

[yellow dahlia]

4. #1 - I'm glad there are sill whistleblowers out there.

#2 - Make the destruction stop! Please!

[Bayard]

7. trump should give up on reflecting pools....

At this point, I think JFK would rather have the Center torn down, than see the Orange Anus continue trying to hang his name on it, and that black velvet Elvis paintings are what's next on the redecorating agenda.

[Martin68]

8. Illegal no-bid contracts on all of Trump's "projects" guarantee serious quality control issues.