Trump administration threatens to cut off agencies’ ties to Smithsonian
The letter says agencies cannot support the Smithsonian under current leadership and alleges diversity practices may violate anti-discrimination laws.
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and White House Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley warned federal agencies in a letter that they cannot support the Smithsonian under current leadership, threatening to halt artifact loans, procurement assistance and discretionary grants.
- Dated Friday, the letter alleges the Smithsonian may have violated anti-discrimination laws through diversity practices. The administration has cracked down on such initiatives, claiming they discriminate against white people and men.
- President Donald Trump has previously threatened funding over the institution's focus on slavery and ordered signs installed outside the National Museum of American History to reflect his administration's criticism, alongside launching a museum review last year.
- Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch dismissed White House claims of "thinly veiled anti-Americanism" as unfair, while historians and civil rights advocates warned the administration's actions risk reversing social progress and undermining critical historical acknowledgement.
- Comprising 21 museums, galleries, and the National Zoo, the Smithsonian operates a vast research complex vital to U.S. history and culture. The threat to withhold federal cooperation jeopardizes this network's operational stability.
38 Articles
38 Articles
Smithsonian showdown intensifies as Trump administration issues a stark new warning – Democratic Accent
The Trump administration says it has uncovered evidence that the Smithsonian Institution violated federal nondiscrimination... The post Smithsonian showdown intensifies as Trump administration issues a stark new warning appeared first on Democratic Accent .
Letter to Smithsonian: Taxpayers sent $1 billion annually for ‘radical ideology’, not American history
by WorldTribune Staff, September 3, 2026 Non-AI Real World News The Trump administration has threatened to cut federal support for the Smithsonian over what it describes as a shift from its mission to a “radical political agenda.” In a letter sent on Aug. 28 to the Smithsonian Board of Regents, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and […]
Smithsonian's leadership facing latest pressure campaign from Trump administration over programming
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.
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