The top executive of the Smithsonian, Lonnie G. Bunch III, was summoned to a White House lunch on Thursday in the midst of President Trump’s efforts to review and change content at the institution’s museums.
Neither side publicly discussed what happened at the meeting, which came as the White House increasingly pushes for a role in deciding what is presented in Smithsonian exhibits. But a White House official described the lunch as “productive and cordial.”
Mr. Bunch, the secretary of the Smithsonian, and Mr. Trump were joined by Lindsey Halligan, a special assistant to the president who is leading the White House review.
Mr. Trump has said the Smithsonian’s museums present “divisive narratives” and “race-centered ideology,” and this month the administration sent Mr. Bunch a letter announcing a wide-ranging review of current and planned Smithsonian exhibitions. The examination would involve scouring wall text, websites and social media at eight of the institution’s 21 museums “to assess tone, historical framing and alignment with American ideals.”
The White House said then that museums would be required to adjust any content that the administration finds problematic within 120 days, “replacing divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate and constructive descriptions.”
Since then, the Smithsonian leadership had been debating how to respond to the White House order in a way that reasserted its independence without escalating tensions with the administration. The institution had announced its own review of content several weeks ago as part of an effort to eliminate any content that was inappropriately biased or partisan.
Smithsonian officials on Thursday did not respond to requests for comment on the meeting.
Mr. Trump’s efforts have drawn criticism, in part because the Smithsonian has long been regarded as autonomous and not directly under the control of the executive branch.
The Smithsonian’s bylaws define the institution as an independent federal trust directed by a 17-person Board of Regents. The board includes six members of Congress — both Democrats and Republicans — nine citizen members, the chief justice of the United States and the vice president.
Two-thirds of the institution’s budget is supplied by the federal government.
In May, the president announced he was firing the director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet, faulting her for being “highly partisan” and “a strong supporter” of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The Smithsonian announced at the time that only it had the power over its personnel, though Ms. Sajet later resigned.
In March, Mr. Trump issued an executive order that called for widespread reform of the entire 178-year-old institution, saying it had “come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.”
In the executive order, he accused the Smithsonian of promoting “narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.”
He called on Vice President JD Vance to work with the White House and Republican leaders in Congress to ensure that future budget appropriations encouraged programs in line with the president’s priorities.
This month, Mr. Trump targeted the Smithsonian in a social media post where he described the institution as being “OUT OF CONTROL.” The post continued to describe the institution as a place “where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future.”
Mr. Trump’s efforts have drawn considerable criticism outside the Smithsonian. Historians, in particular, have been upset by what they have described as the White House’s effort to rewrite and sanitize history.
Robin Pogrebin, who has been a reporter for The Times for 30 years, covers arts and culture.
Graham Bowley is an investigative reporter covering the world of culture for The Times.
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