The drama that is the Kennedy Center seems to have more sequels than a marathon 18 inning baseball game.
A Federal judge has ruled that any name other than that of John F Kennedy on the walls, letterhead, and website of the Kennedy Center is illegal and must be removed.
In response, the White House filed an appeal with The District of Columbia branch of the federal U.S. Court of Appeals. The three judge panel has upheld the earlier ruling despite the Kennedy Center board’s claim that to remove the deemed illegal name would cause “financial ruin” for The Center is “without merit”; adding that the addition of any names is “illegal and invalid”.
With the name supposedly removed; a tarp has covered the front of The Kennedy Center since June 13.
In truth, the “financial ruin” the board claimed began in February 2025 when there was a hostile takeover of The Kennedy Center by the White House administration; resulting in several artists cancelling performances, artistic advisors leaving The Center, and programming being cancelled. Another round of cancellations occurred when the Kennedy Center board voted to add an illegal name to the building including the Washington National Opera who was a long standing resident of the Kennedy Center.
As the Kennedy Center board and White House administration continue to work their way through the court system – the Supreme Court has adjourned until October – more news of activities at the Kennedy Center are coming to light.
As a part of the court ruling on the illegal name removal, the judge also ordered that the Kennedy Center cannot shut down for the planned two year period, but instead must stay open.
The board has agreed not to shut down The Center, but has also refused to book any programming.
Now, reports are coming out via supposed “whistleblowers” alleging construction issues at the Kennedy Center. The allegations stem from “rushed and improper reconstruction” in the Kennedy Center.
The nonprofit whistleblower protection group – The Government Accountability Project – has stated “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 news comes form Rhode Island lawmaker Sheldon Whitehouse saying, “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. This is waste, and it treats a national memorial to President Kennedy as if it were a private renovation project.”
Whitehouse has sent a letter to Kennedy Center board head Matt Floca demanding answers by July 23.
Whitehouse sites “firsthand accounts” that include documents, photos, and an 83 page appendix filled with documents and photos of the “shoddy construction”. These allegations include, “the center rushed work before it was authorized by Congress because it wanted it to be complete for Trump to accept the new FIFA Peace Prize that the soccer federation awarded him. In doing so, the letter alleges the center didn’t follow required contracting guidelines and wasted money replacing a bathroom because the president didn’t like the color and inking no-bid contracts. One $8 million contract to replace the concert hall’s floor went to a firm with no experience in concert halls.”
Only Congress can authorize any changes to the Kennedy Center memorial – a building Congress authorized as a memorial for President John F. Kennedy who was assassinated in November 1963.