Smithsonian director vows museums ‘free of partisanship’ after Trump instigates review

WASHINGTON (CN) — The director of the Smithsonian Institution on Friday told colleagues that the federally funded research institute remained committed to telling “multi-faceted” stories of American history after the Trump administration ordered a review of its museums and programs.

And despite the White House’s mandate that the administration and Congress strip funding for Smithsonian programs it said promote “corrosive ideology,” its secretary Lonnie Bunch told staff in an internal memo, obtained by Courthouse News, that the institution would continue to work “free of partisanship.”

“We remain steadfast in our mission to bring history, science, education, research and the arts to all Americans,” wrote Bunch, who was elected head of the Smithsonian Institution in 2019. “We will continue to showcase world-class exhibits, collections and objects, rooted in expertise and accuracy.”

In an executive order published Thursday night and entitled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” the Trump administration directed Vice President JD Vance to remove “improper ideology” from the Smithsonian’s museums, education and research centers and the National Zoo. Vance, as vice president, is a member of the institution’s administrative body known as the board of regents.

“Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology,” the White House said, pointing to exhibits at institute-run museums such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the American Women’s History Museum it said “portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.”

The executive order instructed Vance to work alongside Congress to rework the Smithsonian’s budget and bring it in line with the administration’s values.

The White House gave lawmakers a broad mandate to pull funding for institution exhibits or programs that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race” or otherwise promote what they said were ideologies “inconsistent” with federal law and policy.

The administration also directed Congress to require the Smithsonian to celebrate the achievements of women in the American Women’s History Museum and “do not recognize men as women in any respect,” a policy apparently aimed at eliminating trans representation in exhibits.

In his letter to Smithsonian staff, Bunch committed to work with the institute’s board of regents — which includes Vance, Chief Justice John Roberts and a handful of lawmakers — a group he said “understands and appreciates” the Smithsonian’s mission.

But Bunch appeared to push back slightly on the administration’s accusations of ideological impurity, telling colleagues that the Smithsonian’s work has always been nonpartisan and accountable to the public.

“As always, our work will be shaped by the best scholarship, free of partisanship, to help the American public better understand our nation’s history, challenges and triumphs,” he wrote. “When we err, we adjust, pivot and learn as needed.”

Bunch thanked his staff for their continued work to advance the Smithsonian’s mission of increasing and diffusing knowledge. “We remain committed to telling the multi-faceted stories of this country’s extraordinary heritage,” he said.

At least one member of the board of regents pushed back on Trump’s executive action on Friday.

Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, one of the Democratic lawmakers on the board, said in a statement to Courthouse News that she would “continue to support the independence of this critical institution.”

“President Trump’s attempts to rewrite history are a weak, pathetic effort to distract from his disastrous plans to cut Medicaid and use tariffs to raise costs for middle class Americans,” she said.

Arkansas Senator John Boozman, a Republican member of the board of regents, did not return a request for comment.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has said that Smithsonian museums and other federal historical sites should be “solemn and uplifting” monuments to American heritage and culture.

“Museums in our nation’s capital should be placed where individuals go to learn — not be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,” Trump wrote in Thursday’s order.

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