On Tuesday, the Trump administration sent a letter to Lonnie G. Bunch III, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, announcing it would conduct a review of the Smithsonian’s exhibitions and materials.
The letter states that, ahead of the United States’s 250th anniversary in July 2026, ‘it is more important than ever that our national museums reflect the unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story’. It also refers to the 27 March Executive Order, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, which seeks to remove ‘divisive, race-centered ideology’ from the Smithsonian Institution.
The review will initially focus on eight of the Smithsonian’s museums and requests that they each share materials with the White House including exhibition programming, internal guidelines and grant-related documentation. Museums ‘should begin implementing content corrections’ within 120 days, ‘replacing divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate, and constructive descriptions across placards, wall didactics, digital displays, and other public-facing materials’.
The Smithsonian Institution, composed of 21 museums, 14 education and research centres and the national zoo, was established by Congress as an independent federal entity. However, since the March Executive Order, the White House has had a growing influence on its direction and exhibitions.
In late May, Trump attempted to fire the director of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet, via a post on Truth Social. Sajet chose to resign in June. In July, texts mentioning Trump’s two impeachments, displayed in the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition America’s Presidents, were removed before being reinstated with significant edits relating to Trump’s involvement with the January 6 riots and his solicitation of foreign interference in the 2020 election.
In July, the artist Amy Sherald decided to cancel her exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery due to censorship concerns.
