The Smithsonian Institution has turned over internal materials related to its programming and operations amid White House pressure for a review, according to private emails from Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch II obtained by The New York Times.
After retaking office in January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at purging what he described as “anti-American ideology” from the Smithsonian Institution, the consortium of Washington, D.C., museums and archives that includes the National Museum of American History, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
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The Trump administration demanded by Tuesday full compliance with an August directive requiring the Smithsonian to hand over internal materials for review or risk losing federal funding, which makes up the vast majority of its budget. In response, Bunch publicly reiterated the institution’s nonpartisanship and independence, saying the Smithsonian would conduct its own review and brief the administration on its findings.
The revelation that the Smithsonian would transfer materials on a rolling basis—including “digital photographs of labels, placards, and other text on public display in several galleries,” according to the emails—suggests a softening of Bunch’s stance. The emails add that the Smithsonian “will continue to engage with the White House, Congress, and government stakeholders to provide relevant and appropriate materials about our mission, organization, exhibitions, programs, and public offerings.”
Last March, the White House issued Executive Order 14253, titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which argued that the Smithsonian had failed to present a positive view of America and accused the institution of promoting “narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.” Later that year, the White House website published a list of artworks and shows that did not align with the administration’s values, including a show at the Smithsonian American Art Museum examining sculpture as a signifier of power. The National Museum of African American History and Culture’s use of language referencing “white dominant culture,” already criticized in the executive order, was again singled out.
The Smithsonian is not a federal agency and therefore does not fall under direct White House authority. However, federal funding accounts for nearly two-thirds of its roughly $1 billion annual budget. Its Board of Regents—which includes the Chief Justice of the United States, the Vice President, three senators, three members of the House, and nine private citizens—also leaves the institution vulnerable to political pressure.
