Trump administration says agencies may stop working with the Smithsonian

Kevin Carter/Getty Images

The Trump administration has suggested federal agencies may stop working with the Smithsonian Institution if its leadership does not change, ramping up a monthslong pressure campaign to align the world’s largest museum complex with its views.

In an August 28 letter to the Smithsonian’s governing body that was recently made public, administration officials said government agencies cannot “in good conscience” support the institution and may cease “loaning artifacts for exhibits, enabling procurement processes and making discretionary grants,” citing a White House report that claimed the institution was promoting “extreme political activism” at the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.

It’s a sign that the Trump administration is considering more aggressive measures to exert influence on content at the Smithsonian, which has tried to maintain its independence despite unprecedented scrutiny of its programming. President Donald Trump has tasked aides with rooting out “woke” ideology and what he considers a rewriting of American history at the museums.

“Because these concerns arise from executive leadership and institutional ideology at the Smithsonian, the appropriate response must likewise address executive leadership and institutional ideology,” wrote Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Vince Haley, the director of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council, in the letter.

They also wrote that the administration has “recently uncovered evidence” that the Smithsonian’s “institutional culture may have resulted in significant violations of Federal antidiscrimination law” without providing examples. CNN has reached out to the Smithsonian and the Interior Department for comment and more information.

While the 179-year-old institution is a unique public-private trust and does not consider itself an executive agency, the federal government supplies two-thirds of its budget. The government also frequently collaborates with the Smithsonian on museum initiatives and research projects.

In the letter, the officials asked the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents to meet with them in person to discuss the White House’s findings, which were released on July 4. The National Museum of American History’s Director, Andrea Hartig, said at a July congressional hearing that the report “does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum.”

“The museum does not take sides in America’s political debates. We preserve and document the evidence of American life in all of its breadth, so that the public can encounter the past and draw their own conclusions,” she said.

The letter comes weeks after Trump ordered the National Park Service to install temporary signage near the American history museum that warned of “inaccurate information” in the exhibits.

White House scrutiny of the Smithsonian dates back to March 2025, when Trump signed an executive order directing Vice President JD Vance to seek the appointment of public members to the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents who are aligned with his priorities for the institution. Months later, the White House launched an unprecedented, sweeping review of the Smithsonian, asking for extensive documents about its museum exhibitions and operations.

Members of the board include Chief Justice John Roberts, Republican and Democratic members of Congress, and members of the public who are mostly former business executives and nonprofit board members.

Two of nine public regents’ terms have expired and two other spots will open up by the beginning of October, according to a term chart on the Smithsonian website . This could give Trump a chance to try to expand his influence on the board before the November midterm elections shake up Congress. New board members are appointed via congressional joint resolutions that the president must sign into law.

CNN reported earlier this year that there is unanimity among the citizen members that the Smithsonian should remain independent and not be influenced by the administration.

Lonnie Bunch III, the institution’s head since 2019, told CNN in a May interview that the institution has maintained its autonomy as it complied with the White House’s request for information.

“My goal is that history is driven by scholarship, not partisanship,” he said. “The Smithsonian always does its own scholarship. It’s always driven by that. We have always worked with different administrations, but it’s always about what our scholarship tells us.”

CNN’s Renee Marsh, Aleena Fayaz and Michael Williams contributed to this report.

Kevin Carter/Getty Images

特朗普政府暗示，如果史密森学会的领导层不发生改变，联邦机构可能会停止与其合作，并加大了长达数月的施压力度，试图让这家世界上最大的博物馆群与其观点保持一致。

在最近公开的一封 8 月 28 日致史密森学会理事会的信中，政府官员表示，政府机构“无法昧着良心”支持该机构，并可能停止“出借文物用于展览、启动采购流程和提供自由裁量拨款”，信中援引了一份白宫报告，该报告声称该机构在华盛顿特区的美国国家历史博物馆推行“极端政治活动”。

这表明特朗普政府正考虑采取更强硬的措施来影响史密森尼博物馆的内容。尽管其节目策划面临前所未有的审查，史密森尼博物馆一直努力保持独立性。唐纳德·特朗普总统已指示助手们清除博物馆中所谓的“觉醒”意识形态以及他认为的对美国历史的篡改。

“由于这些问题源于史密森学会的高层领导和机构意识形态，因此，适当的回应也必须针对高层领导和机构意识形态，”内政部长道格·伯古姆和白宫国内政策委员会主任文斯·黑利在信中写道。

他们还写道，政府“最近发现了证据”，表明史密森学会的“机构文化可能导致严重违反联邦反歧视法”，但并未提供具体事例。CNN已联系史密森学会和内政部，寻求置评和更多信息。

虽然这家拥有179年历史的机构是一个独特的公私合营信托机构，并且不将自身视为行政机构，但联邦政府为其提供了三分之二的预算。政府也经常与史密森学会合作开展博物馆项目和研究项目。

在信中，官员们要求史密森学会理事会与他们会面，讨论白宫于7月4日发布的调查结果。美国国家历史博物馆馆长安德里亚·哈蒂格在7月的一次国会听证会上表示，该报告“未能公正或准确地描述博物馆的全部工作”。

“博物馆不在美国的政治辩论中选边站队。我们保存和记录美国生活的方方面面，以便公众能够了解过去并得出自己的结论，”她说。

几周前，特朗普下令国家公园管理局在美国历史博物馆附近安装临时标牌，警告展品中存在“不准确的信息”。

白宫对史密森学会的审查可以追溯到2025年3月，当时特朗普签署了一项行政命令，指示副总统JD·万斯寻求任命符合他对该机构发展优先事项的公众人士进入史密森学会理事会。几个月后，白宫对史密森学会发起了一项前所未有的全面审查，要求其提供有关博物馆展览和运营的大量文件。

董事会成员包括首席大法官约翰·罗伯茨、共和党和民主党国会议员，以及公众成员，他们大多是前企业高管和非营利组织董事会成员。

根据史密森学会网站上的任期表，九名公共理事中已有两名任期届满，另有两个空缺将于10月初空出。这可能让特朗普有机会在11月中期选举国会改组之前，扩大其在理事会的影响力。新理事的任命需经国会联合决议，并由总统签署生效。

CNN今年早些时候报道称，公民成员一致认为史密森学会应该保持独立，不受政府的影响。

该机构自 2019 年以来一直担任负责人的 Lonnie Bunch III 在 5 月接受 CNN 采访时表示，该机构在遵守白宫的信息请求的同时，保持了其自主性。

“我的目​​标是让历史研究以学术为导向，而非党派之争，”他说。“史密森学会始终坚持独立开展学术研究，并以此为指导。我们一直与历届政府合作，但最终都取决于我们的学术研究结果。”

CNN的Renee Marsh、Aleena Fayaz和Michael Williams对本报道亦有贡献。