Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell blasted Senate Democrats for initiating an investigation into the national cultural center, informing Rhode Island Democrat Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse that his probe was based on “inaccurate gossip” and filled with “partisan attacks.”
“I am troubled by your careless attacks on me and my team,” Grenell communicated in a letter to Whitehouse Thursday. “The letter you endorsed lacked basic fact-checking. It is replete with partisan attacks and untrue allegations. Your team depended on anonymous sources, inaccurate gossip, and claims from partisan reporters who lacked access to the data or facts I’m willing to provide below.”
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is situated in Washington, D.C., along the Potomac River, functioning as the national cultural center of the U.S. Grenell is at its helm as president, with President Donald Trump acting as its chair.
It is a hybrid public-private entity, securing a portion of its funding from the federal government.
Whitehouse, the leading Democrat on the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee, disclosed earlier Thursday that the committee was examining Grenell’s management of the Kennedy Center and its finances, asserting that the “nation’s foremost arts center is being exploited as a slush fund and private club for Trump’s friends and political associates,” according to a press statement.
ICONIC DC LANDMARK UNVEILS FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE AS PART OF PUSH TO REVIVE HOLIDAY SPIRIT
“Contracts, invoices, and facility use agreements indicate that you are running the Center to benefit your friends and contacts, to hand out political favors, and as a playground for the President of the United States and his allies,” Whitehouse penned regarding the investigation.
“The Center is being drained of millions of dollars through lost revenue, canceled performances, unpaid usage of its facilities, and extravagant spending on upscale restaurants and hotels—an unprecedented pattern of self-dealing, favoritism, and waste,” he stated further in his letter.
Kennedy Center Vice President of Public Relations Roma Daravi informed Fox News Digital Friday morning that “Whitehouse’s unfounded accusations represent the latest partisan assault on America’s cultural hub.”
“With a balanced budget and an impressive $117 million procured under President Trump and Ambassador Grenell’s leadership, the Kennedy Center is committed to welcoming all Americans to appreciate the arts through sensible programming,” she added.
KENNEDY CENTER PRESIDENT CRITICIZES JIMMY KIMMEL’S ONE-SIDED LATE-NIGHT PROGRAMMING APPROACH
Grenell retaliated against Whitehouse Thursday with an extensive, 12-point letter that addressed the claims Whitehouse presented, alleging the Kennedy Center offered “well-funded political allies like NewsNation and the American Conservative Union Foundation” discounted prices for event rentals, allocated thousands on “luxury hotel rooms, lavish meals, and entertainment for friends and newly appointed staff,” and provided the Kennedy Center as a venue for a FIFA event without charge, which Whitehouse contended resulted in a $5,038,444 loss in revenue for the center.
“As President of the Kennedy Center, I consider financial responsibility with the utmost seriousness,” Grenell conveyed. “Upon my arrival, we were compensating an inflated staff using our future debt reserves account. My predecessor was earning $1,210,635 annually. The Development Department employed 94 individuals (compared to 16 today). Additionally, deferred maintenance was quite literally causing the building’s deterioration.”
He noted that Whitehouse omitted from his investigation announcement any acknowledgment that, under Grenell’s direction, the Kennedy Center’s budget was balanced for “the first time in decades.”
Grenell specified that he has decreased expenditures on executive leadership salaries in comparison to his predecessors who witnessed the “hemorrhaging (of) donor dollars,” single board meetings costing $120,000 each, that the Kennedy Center has not canceled any performances as reported by some media outlets, while implementing a new system to guarantee “all events must be revenue neutral.”
Regarding the FIFA event, Grenell stated, the major soccer organization contributed “several million dollars, in addition to covering all expenses for the event instead of a rental fee.”
“Your emphasis on mere rental fees is not a viable approach for managing an institution as diverse as the Kennedy Center. A simple rental fee would not have sufficiently covered the scale of the event,” he expressed.
KENNEDY CENTER’S PRO-FAITH SHIFT REFLECTS A ‘NEW DAY IN AMERICA,’ CONSERVATIVE LEADERS SAY
The thousands expended on “luxury hotels,” he clarified, pertained to accommodating new employees at the Watergate Hotel, located adjacent to the cultural center in D.C., indicating that this practice is standard while highlighting the center’s expenditure of $878,000 in 2024 under the Biden administration for Watergate Hotel accommodations.
Grenell further stated that Whitehouse’s critique of the venue hosting a NewsNation event was not a means of benefiting “political allies,” mentioning the event featured Democrats and Trump critics Chris Cuomo, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, and sports analyst Stephen A. Smith.
“This cannot be construed as a concession to the President’s political supporters. The group participated in bipartisan discussion without limitations on speech,” he articulated.
Grenell, a longtime ally of Trump, served as the nation’s ambassador to Germany during the president’s first term and as acting Director of National Intelligence toward the conclusion of Trump’s initial tenure. Four years later, Grenell is the president of the cultural center and the special envoy for special missions, a position concentrating on overseeing intricate foreign policy challenges.
Grenell disclosed to Fox News Digital in February, upon assuming leadership of the center, his intention to curb its historic financial deficits, including through the promotion of events that will generate ticket sales. The Kennedy Center, under the Biden administration, faced criticism from Trump for hosting drag shows aimed at children, with Grenell introducing more traditional programs, such as recent announcements that the center will host its inaugural Christmas tree lighting and religious-themed Christmas performances.
INTO THE ARENA: HOSTILE DEMOCRATS, SKEPTICAL REPUBLICANS TEAR INTO KENNEDY ON THE HILL
“This will usher in the Golden Age of the Arts,” Grenell conveyed to Fox News Digital at the time. “The Kennedy Center possesses zero cash on hand and zero dollars in reserves – while receiving tens of millions of dollars in public funding. We need programs that generate ticket sales. We cannot afford to fund content that does not, at the very least, pay for itself currently. I regret the necessity of considering production costs, but we must.”
Fox News Digital contacted Whitehouse’s office for feedback on Grenell’s response letter but has not yet received a reply.
Grenell extended an invitation to Whitehouse to visit the center to “experience our new sensible programming and responsible financial management.”
