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The Trump administration escalated pressure on the Smithsonian this week, threatening to withhold federal funds if it does not submit extensive documentation for a sweeping content review. President Donald Trump earlier this year set out to purge what he called "improper ideology" from the nation's most prestigious museum system, efforts that are expected to intensify as his administration tries to shape the country's 250th anniversary celebrations next year.
In a staff email obtained by The Washington Post, sent after the funding threat, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III said the Smithsonian had sent information to the White House in September and intended to submit more that day. He asserted that "all content, programming, and curatorial decisions are made by the Smithsonian."
The previous day, Domestic Policy Council director Vince Haley and White House budget director Russell Vought wrote to Bunch that the Smithsonian's initial submissions "fell far short of what was requested." Among the solicited documents are current exhibition descriptions, comprehensive America 250 programming files, draft plans for upcoming shows and internal guidelines used in exhibition development. The White House gave the Smithsonian until Jan. 13 to meet the request.
"Funds apportioned for the Smithsonian Institution are only available for use in a manner consistent with Executive Order 14253 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,' and the fulfillment of the requests set forth in our Aug. 12, 2025 letter," Haley and Vought wrote. The letter specifically referenced the Museum of American History, the Museum of Natural History, the Air and Space Museum, the Museum of African American History and Culture, the Museum of the American Indian, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of African Art and the National Portrait Gallery.
Responding to the Trump administration, Bunch wrote in a letter Friday that was also reviewed by The Post, that the institution remains "committed to sharing information and data" and asked them to "please understand that this work has been time consuming, involving many staff and departments throughout the Smithsonian."
Bunch wrote that the government shutdown delayed the requested work and that he "would be pleased to meet and share an update on our internal efforts to review and update our content."
It was not immediately clear how much money the White House might try to withhold, from which parts of the Smithsonian or on what authority. The institution is about 62 percent federally funded by a combination of congressional appropriation, federal grants and contracts.
An earlier letter, in August, called for an aggressive review of eight museums to ensure they align with the president's directive to "celebrate American exceptionalism" and asked the Smithsonian to submit all requested materials within 75 days and "begin implementing content corrections" within 120.
Amid scrutiny from Trump, the institution had already planned its own content review, with the Smithsonian's Board of Regents instructing Bunch in June "to ensure unbiased content" across the institution and report back on "any needed personnel changes."
The Smithsonian declined to comment on the latest development. In an email to staff, Bunch told staff that the institution had provided the White House with information in September about their public exhibitions and displays, policies and procedures, and had planned to send more documents related to their mission, organization, and public exhibitions and displays. As they collect documents, he said they would "continue to evaluate the scope of our response."
He stressed that the Smithsonian has for nearly 180 years "served our country as an independent and nonpartisan institution."
In September, Bunch wrote in a letter to staff that the institution had assembled a small, internal team to advise on what it can provide to the White House and said it was undergoing "our own review of content to ensure our programming is factual and nonpartisan."
The heightened demands arrive at the end of a tumultuous year for the Smithsonian - the self-described "world's largest museum, education, and research complex" - which normally operates independently. Historians have broadly criticized Trump for attempting to sanitize the country's past by demanding that cultural institutions espouse "American exceptionalism" and focus less on slavery, among other historical sins.
In June, the director of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet, resigned after Trump attempted to fire her, and months later, artist Amy Sherald pulled her solo show from the same museum, after a disagreement with the institution over how a portrait of a transgender woman as the Statue of Liberty would be displayed.
The Trump administration amplified its rhetoric over the summer, with the president posting on social media that the nation's museums are "essentially, the last remaining segment of 'WOKE'" and that the Smithsonian is too focused on "how bad Slavery was." The White House later released a list of exhibits and materials at the Smithsonian of which it disapproves, specifically targeting works and content mentioning race, slavery, transgender identity and immigration.
Rep. Joe Morelle (New York), the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, which oversees the Smithsonian, said in a statement to The Post that Trump is "trying to twist the mission of the Smithsonian to reflect his efforts to whitewash and re-write our nation's history." He called on the White House to "immediately end its disgraceful interference in the independence and professionalism of the Smithsonian Institution."
The Association of Art Museum Directors, which the Trump administration mentioned by name in its Thursday letter, said in a statement that it supports the Smithsonian's "ongoing work to engage with and address questions posed by the White House - while maintaining the proper oversight role of the Board of Regents," adding that its best practices "consistently reinforce the governance role of trustees, as embodied in the Smithsonian's Board of Regents."
Congress created the Smithsonian and tasked the Board of Regents - which consists of the Supreme Court chief justice, the vice president, three senators, three Congress members and nine citizens - with administering it. A unique public-private partnership that is a "trust instrumentality" of the United States, the Smithsonian puts its public funds toward conserving national collections, basic research, public education, and administrative and support services to maintain large museum and research complexes. Its private funds are used to endow positions, build new facilities and open new exhibitions, among other uses, according to the Smithsonian website.
"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" leading up to the nation's 250th anniversary, Haley and Vought wrote in Thursday's letter. "The American people will have no patience" for any museum that is "uncomfortable conveying a positive view of American history."
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