The White House will conduct a thorough review of all exhibitions, materials, and operations in Smithsonian museums in anticipation of America’s 250th birthday next year. Administration officials say that the effort reflects President Trump’s aim of restoring “truth and sanity” to American history by removing unwanted ideology and political bias.
In a letter sent to the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution on Tuesday, the White House laid out a detailed process for its 21 museums to submit materials for review. According to the letter, vetting will cover virtually every aspect of the Smithsonian’s curation process, from public-facing content such as exhibition text and websites to broader “narrative standards.”
White House officials also plan to conduct a “series of interviews with curators and senior staff to better understand the selection process, exhibition approval workflows, and any frameworks currently guiding exhibition content.” All “current and future exhibitions” are set to be reviewed, “with particular attention to those planned for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.”
This sweeping review of the Smithsonian accords with an executive order issued by Trump on March 27, the White House says, titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” That order condemned an “effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.”
Trump’s executive order accused the Smithsonian of promoting such historical revisionism. “Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology” through many of its exhibits, the president argued. “This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.”
To remedy this alleged problem, Trump instructed Vice President J.D. Vance to effectuate the policies of his executive order through Vance’s seat on the Smithsonian Board of Regents. Trump also asked Vance to recommend to him “any additional actions necessary to fully effectuate such policies.”
In June, the Smithsonian began conducting an internal review of all content in its museums and the National Zoo to remove political bias and ideology. A Smithsonian spokesperson said that the Board of Regents had “directed the secretary to assess content in museums and make needed changes to ensure unbiased content, including personnel changes.”
Now, the White House will be conducting an external review of the Smithsonian. It is unclear whether the White House’s review is meant to supersede or compliment the Institution’s internal review that is already underway.
“This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions,” the White House letter states. “Our goal is not to interfere with the day-to-day operations of curators or staff, but rather to support a broader vision of excellence that highlights historically accurate, uplifting, and inclusive portrayals of America’s heritage.”
Museums are expected to provide the White House with an initial tranche of materials within 30 days and to submit all remaining requested materials within 75 days. After 120 days, “Museums should begin implementing content corrections where necessary, replacing divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate, and constructive descriptions.”
“If all benchmarks are met on schedule,” the letter says, “we anticipate completing our review and preparing a final report for your review in early 2026. This report will include museum-specific assessments, institutional trends, and constructive recommendations for future exhibition strategy across placards, wall didactics, digital displays, and other public-facing materials.”
Tensions emerged between the Trump administration and the Smithsonian earlier in the president’s term, as Trump attempted to fire the longtime director of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet, in May. In response, the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents affirmed the authority of the Smithsonian secretary, Lonnie Bunch, over the Institution’s personnel decisions, as the Smithsonian exists outside of the executive branch.
Following a standoff over the legality of Trump’s attempted firing of Sajet, she resigned from her position as National Portrait Gallery director. Sajet wrote in a memo to staff, “Today, I believe that stepping aside is the best way to serve the institution I hold so deeply in my heart.” Smithsonian Secretary Bunch commended Sajet’s service and her decision to “put the needs of the Institution above her own.”
The White House’s review of the Smithsonian will initially target eight museums: the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.