The director of the National Portrait Gallery has resigned from her post, according to a memo sent to Smithsonian employees and obtained by CNN.
Kim Sajet’s departure from the gallery comes just two weeks after President Donald Trump called for her employment to be terminated in a post on Truth Social, claiming she was “highly partisan” and a supporter of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that his administration has worked to end.
The secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Lonnie Bunch, wrote in the memo that Sajet is stepping down on Friday, writing that she had led the gallery “with passion and creativity for 12 years.” The New York Times first reported Sajet’s resignation.
“Throughout her tenure, she has reimagined and reshaped the impact and storytelling of portraiture,” Bunch said. Sajet was the first woman to serve in the role.
The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, is part of the Smithsonian Institution, which is the world’s largest museum complex, including 21 museums and the National Zoo.
Earlier this week, the Smithsonian released a statement emphasizing its “nonpartisan stature” and saying “all personnel decisions” are made by its secretary.
The institution added that its Board of Regents “is committed to ensuring that the Smithsonian is a beacon of scholarship free from political or partisan influence.”
Trump has sought to influence cultural and artistic institutions, including the Smithsonian. In March, he signed an executive order putting Vice President JD Vance in charge of stopping government spending on “exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.” Vance serves on the institution’s board of regents by virtue of his role as vice president.
“This was not an easy decision, but I believe it is the right one,” Sajet said in a statement included in Bunch’s memo, which did not mention Trump.
“From the very beginning, my guiding principle has been to put the museum first. Today, I believe that stepping aside is the best way to serve the institution I hold so deeply in my heart,” she added.
Bunch wrote that the undersecretary for museums and culture, Kevin Gover, will take over as acting director of the gallery.
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