The Smithsonian Institution faces mounting pressure from federal officials, congressional hearings, and a critical 162-page White House report accusing the museum network of ideological capture. Following executive orders and threats of deep budget cuts, Smithsonian secretary Lonnie Bunch announced his departure, marking a political clash for the cultural trust.
For decades, the Smithsonian Institution maintained a position above the partisan fray. Drawing approximately 15 million visitors annually across its 21 museums, the institution enjoyed bipartisan backing as the steward of national heritage. That institutional exceptionalism is now fractured, pushed to the center of a bitter cultural fight.
The White House Report and the Battle Over American History
The current confrontation escalated sharply on July 4, when the administration released a 162-page White House report. The document argued that the institution had drifted away from traditional historical scholarship toward political activism.
Critics zeroed in on specific exhibits at the National Museum of American History. One focal point was an exhibit opened in November 2021 titled The Electric Dr. Franklin,
which examined Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to electrical science alongside the reality of household slavery. The exhibit noted that Franklin’s scientific work was enabled by enslaved labor and suggested he may have tested electrical shocks on individuals held against their will.
Another exhibit item drawing intense scrutiny during subsequent congressional hearings was a chrome and rubber crotch harness
designed for sadomasochistic sex. These artifacts became focal points for Republican lawmakers questioning the museum’s direction.
Congressional Hearings and Executive Actions Against Leadership
The fallout from the July report translated quickly into legislative and executive pressure. Two House committees convened back-to-back hearings where Republican members lambasted the museum’s director, Anthea Hartig, over controversial exhibit choices.
The administrative pressure began earlier, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 declaring that the institution had succumbed to divisive, race-centered ideology.
Following the July hearings, another executive order instructed the Department of the Interior to place warning signs outside the museum.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum followed up in late August with a direct letter to the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents. Burgum asserted that other federal agencies cannot in good conscience continue to support the Smithsonian under its current leadership.
Financial Vulnerability and the Departure of Lonnie Bunch
The tension between the executive branch and the cultural trust carries profound financial implications. While the Smithsonian operates independently from the executive branch under a 17-member board led by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, it relies heavily on federal backing.
The institution depends on the federal government for 62% of its operating budget, receiving more than $1 billion annually. As warnings of severe budget reductions intensified, internal strain reached a breaking point.
On September 8, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, the first African American person to lead the institution, announced his resignation at age 73. Bunch stated simply that it has been stressful,
concluding a tenure defined by both historic milestones and mounting political crosscurrents.
A Longstanding Debate Over National Narratives
While the current clashes mirror broader efforts by the administration to reshape Washington institutions—comparable to actions involving the Kennedy Center, the White House East Wing, and plans for a 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery—the underlying friction is not entirely new.
Critics have debated the focus of the National Museum of American History since at least 1999, arguing over whether exhibits should emphasize social oppression rather than unifying national narratives. The institution’s internal ambivalence regarding how to present American history left it particularly vulnerable to broadsides from an administration viewing itself as a corrective to progressive cultural shifts accelerated during the 2020 pandemic and social justice protests.