The Kennedy Center’s executive director stopped plans to fix the Washington, D.C. institution’s faulty ceiling before it collapsed, despite being aware of the problems months ago, whistleblowers claim.
Part of the center’s roof collapsed in the Grand Foyer following heavy rainfall in early September. There were no injuries, but the damage left a large hole in the ceiling and debris on the red carpet of the foyer. The center’s board voted to close the venue indefinitely after the incident, which President Donald Trump said could have claimed “innocent lives” had it been open at the time.
Trump has sought to shutter the venue after a judge blocked having his name inscribed on the building for a second time.
Matt Floca, the center’s chief operating officer, did not treat the roofing issues as priorities and in April halted a funded plan to address them, according to a letter Thursday signed by David Seide, a lawyer representing the anonymous whistleblowers.
Floca denied the allegations and said recent investigations of the leaks exposed new hazards at the building.
In a September court declaration, Floca noted there were “acute risks to public safety” when the aging building temporarily closed its doors after an inspection of a deteriorating roof terrace canopy and a partial ceiling collapse.
The former employees, however, claim those “acute” issues were known previously by Floca, who joined the Kennedy Center as vice president of facilities in 2024.
“More than one year ago, Mr. Floca had requested and received the needed funds to remediate the New Problems he references,” Seide wrote, citing Trump's tax cut and spending bill that he signed in the summer of 2025. “Yet six months ago – with the funds in hand – he stopped the remediation process from moving forward.” In the legislation, Congress earmarked $257 million for the Kennedy Center.
In response to the whistleblower’s letter, Floca said the safety of patrons, artists and staff is his priority.
“The Kennedy Center has known for years that the roof overhang leaked,” he wrote. “What we did not know until this summer was how far the damage had spread inside it.”
Floca added that rather than halting design plans in April as the whistleblowers alleged, he had reassigned the work to a more comprehensive plan because the contractor’s quote for the initial plans was nearly three times the expected cost.
“That was a change in the approach to procuring and delivering the work, not a determination that the work was unnecessary,” Floca wrote.
It comes as the center’s board is locked in a long-running legal battle over its plan to shutter the venue for two years while it undergoes $250 million in renovations — and to add Trump’s name to the building’s facade after a judge ruled it must come down,
The center — whose board is dominated by Trump loyalists and chaired by the president himself — says the overhaul will include repairs to plumbing and electrical systems, along with new seating and carpeting.
Administration officials have warned the institution could face “financial ruin” unless Trump’s name is added.
In documents obtained by the Washington Post earlier this month, officials at the center claimed that keeping Trump's name on the building may be the only way to ensure that he continues to fund renovations and prevent “certain fiscal collapse.”
Trump has hinted that the center could be demolished if his administration does not receive recognition at the center.
“I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition,” he said. “Because frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close. It'll end up being ripped down.”
Additional reporting by Alex Woodward
