FORMER KENNEDY CENTER EMPLOYEES ALLEGE LEADERSHIP DELAYED ROOF REPAIRS BEFORE CITING SAFETY ISSUES IN CLOSURE DECISION. (PHOTO).

 Former Kennedy Center employees allege leadership delayed roof repairs before citing safety issues in closure decision

Former Kennedy Center employees allege that the venue’s leadership knew about serious structural problems well before citing newly discovered hazards as the reason for its abrupt closure this month. The claims were outlined in a letter to Congress from a lawyer representing anonymous whistleblowers.

The letter accuses the center’s executive director and chief operating officer, Matt Floca, of failing to prioritize roof repairs and stopping a funded repair plan in April. Floca disputes the allegations, saying recent inspections revealed that water damage had spread farther into the building than officials previously knew.

In a September court declaration, Floca cited “acute risks to public safety” following an inspection that found deterioration in a roof terrace canopy and a partial ceiling collapse. The former employees contend those dangers were already known to Floca, who joined the center as vice president of facilities in 2024.

The whistleblowers’ lawyer, David Seide, said Floca had obtained funding for the work more than a year earlier but stopped the repair process about six months ago. Congress earmarked $257 million for the Kennedy Center in a spending and tax bill signed by President Donald Trump in the summer of 2025.

The dispute comes amid broader tensions over the center, which has become a focus of Trump’s efforts to reshape the nation’s capital. Trump appointed new members to the center’s governing board and had his name added to the building. A judge later ruled that the lettering had been installed unlawfully and ordered it removed.

Earlier this month, the board voted to close the Kennedy Center indefinitely for repairs, just hours after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper blocked plans to restore Trump’s name to the building.

Cooper has directed the center to provide 30 days’ notice before making major physical changes, including demolition, which Trump has threatened. Center leaders were also ordered to file a status report by Friday detailing the temporary closure and emergency repairs.

Floca said the center had known for years that the roof overhang leaked, but did not understand the extent of the interior damage until this summer. He said he did not abandon the repair project in April, but shifted it to a broader plan after the contractor’s estimate for the original work came in at nearly three times the expected cost.

Floca described the change as a different approach to arranging and completing the repairs, not a decision that the work was unnecessary. He said the safety of patrons, artists and staff remains his priority.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said the documents raised questions about how the center handled its repair funding. Whitehouse accused its leadership of holding back money approved by Congress while blaming previous management for the building’s condition.

Whitehouse said his earlier inquiry into the center had focused on alleged favoritism and excessive spending during Trump’s tenure as board chairman, but the new documents appeared to raise additional concerns about financial management.