Bulgaria News
AP Photo/Allison Robbert
Former Kennedy Center employees are accusing the institution’s leadership of shelving repairs to leaking infrastructure months ago, then citing those same problems to justify shutting down the building.
The whistleblowers, who submitted their allegations to Congress through attorney David Seide on Thursday, provided internal documents showing that Kennedy Center Executive Director Matt Floca directed officials to cancel funding for planned roof work in April, The New York Times reported Friday.
President Donald Trump has for months pushed to close the Kennedy Center for two years while it undergoes a $257 million renovation funded by Congress, though a federal court has so far blocked that plan. Last week, after a judge again ruled that Trump’s name could not be displayed on the building, the president said the renovations would not move forward unless the decision is overturned.
These new whistleblower revelations come after the Kennedy Center temporarily closed its main building last week, citing public safety risks. Floca has specifically pointed to leaks affecting the building’s roof overhangs as one reason the closure is necessary.
But Seide argued that the water problems had been known for years and “were not treated as priorities nor as acute risks to public safety.”
The Kennedy Center had secured $9.3 million for roofing work through the domestic policy legislation signed by Trump in July 2025, the Times noted. Floca subsequently approved $295,000 to design replacements for the leaking overhangs.
“Yet six months ago — with the funds in hand — he stopped the remediation process from moving forward,” Seide wrote.
The Kennedy Center disputed that characterization, saying the initial project was canceled after a contractor’s price came in at three times the expected amount. Officials said the roof work was instead incorporated into a larger renovation proposal.
“The premise that we delayed the design work is incorrect,” the center said in a statement referenced by the Times.
A project manager submitted a $250 million renovation plan in June that included $14 million for structural repairs addressing the leaks, along with work on the building’s HVAC, elevators, electrical system and theater infrastructure.
Floca also said subsequent inspections uncovered more extensive damage than officials initially realized.
“The Kennedy Center has known for years that the roof overhang leaked,” he said. “What we did not know until this summer was how far the damage had spread inside it.”
The post Kennedy Center Whistleblowers Say Officials Halted Repairs Now Cited to Justify Shutdown first appeared on Mediaite.
Kennedy Center Whistleblowers Say Officials Halted Repairs Now Cited to Justify Shutdown 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-09-25 22:56:01 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
БЪЛГАРИЯ НОВИНИТЕ – ИНФОРМАЦИОННА АГЕНЦИЯ 2009-2026 2026-09-25 22:56:01