White House Orders a Content Review of Eight Smithsonian Museums Before the 250th Anniversary

On August 12, 2025, the White House sent a letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, signed by Lindsey Halligan, Vince Haley and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, directing a "comprehensive internal review" of eight museums: the National Museum of American History, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Museum of the American Indian, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Portrait Gallery and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. The museums were told to produce grant records, collection inventories, visitor surveys, exhibition texts, social media content and curatorial planning documents on 30-, 75- and 120-day timetables, and within 120 days to "begin implementing content corrections where necessary, replacing divisive or ideologically driven language."

The Smithsonian is a trust instrumentality governed by a Board of Regents, not a line agency of the executive branch, and its curatorial work has historically been insulated from White House editorial direction. Setting deadlines for changing exhibition language places the executive in the position of approving how national history is narrated ahead of the 2026 semiquincentennial.

The letter followed a March 2025 executive order accusing the institution of promoting "a divisive, race-centered ideology." The Smithsonian said its work reflects a "commitment to scholarly excellence, rigorous research, and the accurate, factual presentation of history" and pledged to remain "free from political or partisan influence."