The Trump administration turned up the pressure in its ongoing battle with the Smithsonian Institution, a museum network that the President has repeatedly taken to task for the way it represents the diversity of American history and culture in its exhibitions and displays.
According to the Washington Post, the administration has now threatened to withhold funding from the Smithsonian as its museums face a content review.
Smithsonian secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III had previously promised to submit to that review while also maintaining the network’s independence from the government. But per the Post, Russell Vought and Vince Haley, respectively the budget director for the White House and the director of the Domestic Policy Council, have now alleged that the Smithsonian hasn’t moved quickly enough to turn over all the documents and information for that review.
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In an email to Bunch that was obtained by the Post, Vought and Haley cited a prior executive order by Donald Trump in which he claimed that the Smithsonian had advanced “corrosive ideology” by claiming that the United States is “inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.” In that order, Trump demanded that the White House only “prohibit expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race.”
That order marked the beginning of a rough period for the Smithsonian that has seen artworks targeted and exhibitions reviewed by the White House. Trump also claimed to have fired the director of the National Portrait Gallery, a Smithsonian-run museum, before she resigned soon after. Soon after, painter Amy Sherald canceled her planned show at that institution, claiming the museum suggested that she remove a painting of a Black trans woman from it.
Vought and Haley claimed that what the Smithsonian sent over “fell far short of what was requested.” The Post reported that the Smithsonian has a January 13 deadline to submit all necessary exhibition descriptions, materials related to forthcoming exhibitions, and more.
They reportedly addressed the Smithsonian’s planned programming for America’s 250th anniversary in particular, writing, “We wish to be assured that none of the leadership of the Smithsonian museums is confused about the fact that the United States has been among the greatest forces for good in the history of the world.” Vought and Haley said the public would have “no patience” for exhibitions that do not present what they called “a positive view of American history.”
In response, Bunch reportedly wrote that the Smithsonian was still “committed to sharing information and data.” He claimed that the government shutdown had slowed efforts to gather everything, adding that the Smithsonian “would be pleased to meet and share an update on our internal efforts to review and update our content.”
Federal money is a lifeline for the Smithsonian, which receives about 62 percent of its funding from the government. Still, even if the White House defunds the Smithsonian, the museum network can still receive money in the form of “gifts, revenue-generating activities, and investments,” according to its website.
Although the Smithsonian gains so much money from the government, it is not officially a state-run museum. According to the Post, Bunch once again affirmed the Smithsonian’s independence in an email to Vought and Haley, writing that “all content, programming, and curatorial decisions are made by the Smithsonian.”
