Trump administration to review 19 Smithsonian museums to ensure exhibits are ‘patriotic’ | Trump administration

The Trump administration obviously extends its control of cultural representation to the Smithsonian, the largest museum and research complex in the world.

In a letter published on the White House website, the administration told Smithsonian that he provided a large examination of exhibitions, materials and operations before the celebrations of the American 250th anniversary in 2026.

The letter to Lonnie Bunch, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, officials of the Trump administration, said that the White House wanted the museum program to reflect “unity, progress and sustainable values that define American history” in accordance with an executive decree issued in March which ordered the elimination of “divisive or anti-American ideology” of Smithson and its museums.

Museums will have 120 days to replace the content that the administration finds “a divided language or ideologically motivated by unifying, historically precise and constructive descriptions”.

The order of Donald Trump of March, entitled Restring Truth and Sanity to American History, said that the president “aims to ensure that the Smithsonian is an institution that triggers the imagination of children, celebrates American history and ingenuity, serves as a symbol for the world of American grandeur and makes America proud”.

Earlier in August, the museum later withdrew and modified an exhibition on the American presidential dismissal which mentioned the two Trump dismissal during its first mandate. Smithsonian officials later said that museum officials “had not asked any administration or another government official to withdraw the content from the exhibition”.

But Monday’s letter to the institution, which was obtained for the first time by the Wall Street Journal, places the institution under conservation control, ranging from the exposure text and the online content of exhibitions, to internal conservation processes, to the planning of exhibitions, to the use of collections and artist subsidies.

“This initiative aims to guarantee alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, eliminate division or supporters and restore confidence in our common cultural institutions,” said the letter.

It was signed by Lindsey Halligan, the main partner of the White House; Vince Haley, director of the Domestic Policy Council, and Russ Vought; the director of the management and budget office.

Halligan was appointed to monitor JD Vance on the Smithsonian. In a statement, she said that the exam was “to preserve confidence in one of our most expensive institutions”.

Halligan added: “The museums and exhibitions of the Smithsonian should be accurate, patriotic and enlightening – ensure that they remain places of learning, wonder and national pride for future generations.”

The official examination comes when the Trump administration has placed the Washington DC police service under the direct control of federal control and deployed the National Guard in the city, citing a public security emergency linked to crime and homelessness, although the data show a sharp reduction in violent crimes.

In January, Washington DC police and the US prosecutor’s office published a report showing that the total number of violent crimes at DC in 2024 was down 35% compared to the previous year, leading to the lowest violent crimes rate in more than 30 years. Meanwhile, data have constantly shown that non -Lodi people are more likely to be victims of crimes than to commit them.

The review will initially focus on eight of the following smithsonian 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 American Indians, the National Museum of Air and Space, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Museum.

The letter from the White House said that others will be examined on a later date.

“Smithsonian’s work is based on a deep commitment to learned excellence, rigorous research and the exact and factual presentation of history,” the institution said in a press release. “We examine the letter with this commitment to the mind and will continue to collaborate constructively with the White House, the Congress and our board of directors of the regents.”

The Council of Smithsonian Regents had previously agreed to carry out an in -depth examination of all its museum and zoo content to eliminate political influence and prejudices. This preceded the resignation in June of Kim Sonjet, director of the National Portrait Gallery, who, according to Trump, was involved in the diversity initiatives to which he opposed.

Separately, the figurative painter Amy Sherald has canceled a career review of her work – including a portrait of Michelle Obama, the former First Lady – to the Smithsonian to fear that the Institute does not show freedom transforming, a portrait of a transgender woman with pink hair and a blue dress holding a torch as a status of freedom.

The letter on Monday will later, however, order an examination of the exhibitions provided for the 250th anniversary of the United States. It is also part of a wider thrust to assert surveillance on a large strip of cultural and university institutions.

The White House declares that museums should correct the “dividing or ideological” language language with “unifying, historically exact” text.

A white house team would have planned to lead observation visits and museum walks to document themes and messaging. The letter also indicated that the White House had asked to review the organizational cards, the visitors’ surveys, the artists exposed who received subsidies from Smithsonian, external partners and internal communications related to section and approval processes.

The point of sale said that the White House had given 30 days so that the requested documents returned and that it expected to complete its exam in early 2026.