Smithsonian targeted in Trump culture war
The gist
The administration plans signs outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History to flag "radical ideologies."
The move lands as the Smithsonian searches for a new leader.
How it unfolded
- Mar 27, 2025Trump signs the executive order "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," directing Vice President JD Vance to work to remove "improper ideology" from Smithsonian displays.
- May 2025Trump tries to fire Kim Sajet, then-director of the National Portrait Gallery, calling her "a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI"; she later resigns.
- 2025The administration orders an internal review of Smithsonian content and threatens to cut its federal funding; the Interior Department removes dozens of displays from national monuments highlighting social activists, people of color, women and LGBTQ people.