News: Whistleblower Document Dump Accuses Trump Administration of Damaging Kennedy Center with No-Bid Contracts and Shoddy Work
Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse released the documents which state facility may now require "extensive remediation."
It is more than just a tacky tarp that is plaguing the Kennedy Center. According to a large trove of government documents and emails, provided to members of Congress by a group of whistleblowers, the Trump administration rushed shoddy renovation work at the Center through no-bid contracts that could leave the facility in need of “extensive remediation” for years to come.
The newly released documents, released by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, accuse the administration of “gross mismanagement and gross waste of public funds” in awarding projects to “preferred contractors.”
A letter addressed to lawmakers from the Government Accountability Project on behalf of the whistleblowers said the president’s handpicked Center management made several of these renovation decisions in “unusually close consultation” with Trump himself.
“Renovations were rushed to meet the deadlines driven by the President’s desire to host official events at the Center. Federal contracting laws and regulations were ignored. Preferred contractors were awarded no-bid contracts without proper justification. Management repeatedly told staff to ‘do whatever it takes,’ insisting that ‘we’ll deal with the lawsuits later,’ the letter stated.
“The rushed timeline and deviations from contracting practices led to superficial cosmetic alterations that apparently failed to address underlying structural deficiencies and will likely require extensive remediation,” the letter added.
The documents contain photographs highlighting some of the questionable methods used by the companies hired by the Center for critical renovation projects. In one such project that involved painting the Center’s columns, rust is “bleeding through the fresh paint along the column bases.,” according to the whistleblowers.
In another project that called for cosmetic improvements to the Center’s East Plaza Reflecting Pool, the whistleblowers stated “the work was and remains incomplete.”
“Due to the severity of outstanding problems, the East Place Reflecting Pool will likely need to be completely demolished and rebuilt,” the whistleblowers’ documents said.
The whistleblowers’ documents go on to indicate top-level administration officials, including Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought, were kept in the loop on the Center’s renovation work. The White House has consistently maintained the administration’s stewardship of the Center was intended to preserve the performing arts facility for future generations. But former Center employees have long accused Trump of taking the institution hostage for his own personal benefit, noting how the president affixed his name to the building’s exterior, an alteration that was eventually removed, only after court action and mounting protests.
The New York Times first reported on some of these allegations made by the whistleblowers.
Everything he touches turns to 💩
Every nickel he made off us should be confiscated. But I have little hope for that.