Ex-Staff Allege Kennedy Center Delayed Known Roof Repairs Before Closure

A group of former Kennedy Center employees has told Congress that the performing arts venue's leadership was aware of serious structural problems well before it abruptly closed this month, according to a letter made public Thursday.

The letter, signed by lawyer David Seide on behalf of anonymous whistleblowers, alleges that executive director and chief operating officer Matt Floca did not prioritise roofing issues and halted a funded remediation plan in April. It claims Floca had requested and received the necessary money more than a year earlier, citing the tax cut and spending law signed in the summer of 2025, under which Congress earmarked $257 million for the centre.

"With the funds in hand – he stopped the remediation process from moving forward," the letter states, referring to the problems the centre later described as new.

Floca disputed the account. He said the safety of patrons, artists and staff is his priority, and that while the roof overhang had leaked for years, the extent of internal damage only became clear this summer. He said the April decision was not a halt but a reassignment of the work to a broader plan, after a contractor's quote for the initial design came in at nearly three times the expected cost. "That was a change in the approach to procuring and delivering the work, not a determination that the work was unnecessary," he said.

In a September court declaration, Floca described "acute risks to public safety" when the ageing building temporarily shut after an inspection of a deteriorating roof terrace canopy and a partial ceiling collapse. The former employees contend those acute issues were already known to Floca, who joined the centre as vice president of facilities in 2024.

The closure has become the latest flashpoint over the Potomac River waterfront landmark, which has drawn intense attention as President Donald Trump reshapes the capital in his second term. Trump installed his own leadership on the governing board and had his name added to the building before a judge ruled the lettering illegal and ordered it removed.

The Trump-aligned board voted earlier this month to close the centre indefinitely for repairs, hours after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper blocked plans to restore Trump's name. Cooper has required 30 days' notice before major physical changes, including demolition, which Trump has threatened, and the leadership must file a status report on the closure and emergency repairs by Friday.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, wrote to Floca on Thursday after receiving the letter. He said the documents showed leadership had "hoarded" appropriated repair funds while blaming previous leadership, and that they pointed to deeper financial mismanagement beyond the cronyism and excessive spending his earlier investigation had examined. A spokesperson for the committee's Republican majority did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.