Gov. McKee explains decision to withhold Washington Bridge forensic audit report
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee responded Monday, after it was revealed last week that his administration withheld a forensic audit report on the Washington Bridge for more than a year.
“I commissioned the report, I was willing to release the report,” McKee said. “I was instructed by our attorneys and the attorneys in the [attorney general’s] office not to release the report.”
The report was quietly released online Friday, but had wrapped up long ago.
The governor said the decision to keep it private was made in the best interest of Rhode Islanders, as his team chose to sue several companies it said failed to properly maintain the bridge.
In his two years as governor prior to the closure, McKee said he was aware that the Washington Bridge needed to be repaired, but was confident that work was underway.
He maintained that he shut the bridge down as soon as he was made aware the deficiencies were irreparable.
“I made the decision to shut down the bridge to keep people safe, and going forward, commissioned that report to kind of get the full details on a third party,” McKee said. “And those facts lead us to create a lawsuit, and the attorneys that would leading the lawsuit said, do not release that report.”
However, there’s still been a wave of criticism regarding why the governor didn’t release these new findings in the first place.
2026 Democratic Primary opponent Helena Foulkes called the McKee administration out Monday morning for what she saw as a a lack of transparency.
She also called for Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti to be fired.
“Every day, Rhode Islanders are stuck sitting in traffic caused by the Washington Bridge debacle. It’s made getting to work, going to see friends and family, running errands, visiting our local shops and restaurants or just getting out on the weekends more time consuming and frustrating,” Foulkes said in a statement. “At the very least Rhode Islanders deserve honesty and transparency about what actually happened. Governor McKee is failing to meet this minimum threshold.”
Foulkes’s statement came after McKee criticized her handling of the opioid epidemic as Chief Executive Officer of CVS.
ABC6 asked McKee about her response before an unrelated event Monday morning.
“Well, first I kept people safe, and she didn’t, so I think there’s a clear distinction there, right?” McKee said.
“She should know better that you’re not going to make comments on a legal case,” he added. “And yet she’s politicizing this issue for her own gain. Look, I kept people safe. She didn’t.”
The lawsuit is ongoing, and the governor said he was confident that accountability “will come to light.”
