Senator says Kennedy Center renovations were rushed for Trump
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse released a whistleblower complaint alleging costly, flawed work at the Kennedy Center under Trump-appointed leadership.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has made public a whistleblower complaint accusing Trump allies at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts of rushing renovations to satisfy President Donald Trump’s preferences. The Rhode Island Democrat said the work may have wasted public money and bypassed contracting safeguards at a federally backed cultural institution.
Whitehouse released a letter Saturday to Kennedy Center leaders describing the allegations. He wrote that the complaint points to a pattern of projects shaped by Trump’s “aesthetic whims” and by his plans to appear at televised events in December, rather than by the building’s needs.
According to Whitehouse’s letter, Kennedy Center officials worked in “unusually close consultation” with the White House before those events. Trump hosted the FIFA World Cup final draw at the center in December and later emceed the Kennedy Center Honors, where lifetime achievements in U.S. arts and culture are recognized.
The Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C., is the national performing arts center and a memorial to President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963. Whitehouse said its management under Trump-appointed leadership set aside normal rules for federal contracting, approved no-bid deals and carried out cosmetic work that staff warned would need to be redone.
Claims of flawed work and no-bid contracts
One allegation centers on the gold-colored columns outside the complex, which Whitehouse said were designed to resemble strings on a musical instrument. Trump wanted them painted white to match the building’s marble, according to the letter.
Whitehouse wrote that Trump’s preferred contractor started repainting the columns in August without a written contract in place. He said a $4.4 million contract was awarded after the work began, and that the steel columns later showed rust through the new paint. Whitehouse estimated repairs would cost $1.5 million.
The senator also said Kennedy Center leaders tore out newly installed bathroom tile because Trump disliked the color. In another example cited in the complaint, the center’s smaller reflecting pool was left unevenly painted and rusting after what Whitehouse described as a hurried cosmetic project.
Whitehouse said staff were told, “We’ll deal with the lawsuits later,” as management pushed to meet the president’s deadlines. He also wrote that one contractor received $8 million despite appearing to lack experience working on concert halls.
Fight over Trump’s control of the center
Trump moved to take control of the Kennedy Center after beginning his second term in 2025. He fired most of its board, replaced members with allies and announced that he would serve as chair, a role his new board later approved.
The president’s administration has argued that the Kennedy Center was in poor condition and said the complex should close for two years. Trump also sought to put his name on the building, but Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in May that the name had to be removed, saying Congress had named the center and only Congress could change it.
Whitehouse called for a full accounting of the renovation work and its costs, including the expense of adding Trump’s name to the building. He wrote that public funds should be used lawfully and for the institution, rather than for the current president’s stylistic preferences.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.