The Trump administration is threatening to cut off executive agencies’ cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution, the latest escalation in President Donald Trump’s fight to control American history.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and White House Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley sent the Smithsonian’s governing board a letter Friday warning that federal agencies could stop helping the institution if its leaders do not abandon what the administration described as “an ideological agenda that seeks to transform both the Smithsonian and the country.”
Administration officials “cannot in good conscience continue to support the Smithsonian under current leadership,” they added, citing artifact loans, procurement assistance and discretionary grants as examples of federal support that could be at risk.
The letter represents the latest step in a 17-month White House campaign to reshape the Smithsonian, a historically independent public-private institution governed by a Board of Regents. What began with demands that the Smithsonian remove what Trump called “improper ideology” from its museums has progressed through content reviews and funding threats to direct attacks on museum leaders and, now, a warning that executive agencies could cut ties with the institution.
The Smithsonian declined to comment Wednesday.
Burgum and Haley also alleged that the administration had “uncovered evidence” suggesting Smithsonian leaders may have violated federal antidiscrimination laws by creating a hostile work environment and distributing opportunities or benefits based on race, ethnicity or other protected characteristics. The letter did not identify that evidence. The White House and Interior Department, which do not have direct authority over the Smithsonian, did not provide examples in response to questions from The Washington Post.
Trump launched his campaign against the institution last March when he signed an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” The order directed his administration to eliminate what it called “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology” from the Smithsonian and restore it as “a symbol of inspiration and American greatness.”
That May, Trump tried to fire Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery. The Smithsonian’s Board of Regents backed Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III’s assertion that only he had the authority to hire and fire museum directors. But Sajet resigned days later, saying her continued presence had become a distraction.
The White House broadened its pressure campaign in August, informing Bunch that it was conducting a sweeping review of museum exhibitions, collections and operations.
By December, the White House was threatening the Smithsonian’s federal funding. In a Dec. 18 letter, Haley and White House budget director Russell Vought said the institution’s initial document production “fell far short of what was requested” and demanded more information about exhibits, wall labels and programming. Bunch responded that the Smithsonian would continue providing information but maintained that “all content, programming, and curatorial decisions are made by the Smithsonian.”
On July 4, Haley’s Domestic Policy Council released “Saving America’s Story,” a 162-page report accusing the National Museum of American History of “extreme political activism” and arguing that its leaders had turned history into “a political instrument to divide, dispirit, and discourage our citizens.”
Bunch disputed the report, telling employees it was “not a fair characterization of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History.” He said the institution remained committed to “scholarship, nonpartisanship, independence, accuracy, and integrity.”
Three weeks later, Trump signed another executive order directing officials including Burgum, Vought and Haley to use “any and all available authorities” to press the Smithsonian to address the report’s findings. The order separately directed Burgum to install temporary exhibits or signs on National Park Service property around the American history museum that would “correct” information the administration considers inaccurate. (The signs have not gone up.)
The Aug. 28 letter signals that the administration is now looking beyond the Smithsonian’s congressional appropriation for additional leverage. Although Congress provides the Smithsonian more than $1 billion annually, Burgum and Haley wrote that executive agencies also support the institution by loaning artifacts, assisting with procurement and providing discretionary grants. They argued that agencies have a responsibility to withhold that cooperation if the institution does not change course.
The officials asked the regents to meet with them “at your earliest convenience” to determine how to address their complaints. Unlike the December letter, they bypassed Bunch and appealed directly to the Board of Regents, the Smithsonian’s governing body and the officials ultimately responsible for its leadership.
In a statement Wednesday to the Atlantic, the White House suggested the contents of the letter were not direct orders. Through a statement from the White House to The Post, Haley on Wednesday continued the administration’s attack on the American history museum, saying the country deserves “an honest and inspiring account of American history” during the country’s 250th anniversary year.
“It should begin by telling the story of our Founding Fathers — who they were, what they did, and what they built,” Haley said.
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