The White House is planning a comprehensive review of the Smithsonian Institution to ensure its exhibitions reflect the administration’s views on American history ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary. This step is part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to influence the nation’s cultural institutions.
In a letter sent to Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch and subsequently published on the White House website on Tuesday, three administration officials outlined areas subject to review and revision to “reflect the unity, progress, and enduring values that define American history.”
“This initiative is launched to align with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, eliminate divisive or partisan narratives, and restore trust in our shared cultural institutions,” wrote the signatories of the letter: Senior Deputy Secretary Lindsey Halligan, Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley, and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought.
The review aims to regulate the museums’ public exhibitions, planning, and curatorship, as well as narrative standards and the use of collections.
This move is the latest in a comprehensive effort by the Trump administration to reshape how American history and culture are taught and presented in institutions nationwide, from universities to museums and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.
The letter states that within 30 days, eight Smithsonian museums must select a representative to liaise with the administration and submit a list of materials chosen for review.
Within 120 days, the museums will have a specific period to implement the changes requested by the administration, replacing “divisive or ideologically motivated language with unifying, historically accurate, and constructive descriptions.”
Despite this, administration officials argued that their goal is not to “interfere with the day-to-day work of curators or staff, but to support a broader vision of excellence that reflects America’s heritage in a historically accurate, inspiring, and inclusive manner.”
The first phase of the project will target the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Administration officials said the museum network should promote the idea of “Americanism; the people, principles, and progress that define our nation” to “renew the Smithsonian’s role as the world’s leading museum institution.”
The letter noted that a list of additional museums will be included in the second phase of the review.
Trump had specifically targeted the Smithsonian Institution in a presidential executive order issued in March to “restore truth and sanity to American history.”
The President criticized the museum network, stating it had “fallen under the influence of a divisive, race-centric ideology” and that its various branches “portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.”
In an effort to retell American history more positively, Trump tasked Vice President JD Vance with removing “inappropriate ideology” from the institution’s museums, education centers, and zoo.
This directive included questioning any language deemed to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion; transgender individuals; or the history of systemic racism in the US.
Halligan, an attorney, was also directly assigned in this presidential executive order to work “in consultation with” Vance.
In a profile published in April, Halligan told the Washington Post, “Inappropriate ideology would be using history as a weapon. There is no need to overemphasize the negatives to teach people that some aspects of our nation’s history may be bad.”
Tuesday’s letter is the latest intervention into the institution’s activities and personnel.
In May, Trump announced he was firing Kim Sajet, the long-time director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
While the institution argued the president did not have the authority to dismiss her, Sajet, the first woman to hold the position, resigned from her post in June.
Earlier this month, the Smithsonian announced it had removed a reference to Trump’s 2019 and 2021 impeachment proceedings from its exhibitions. The institution denied that the decision was made in response to pressure from the administration and later restored a version of the exhibit.