Trump executive order on Smithsonian targets funding to programs with 'improper ideology'

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targets funding for programs that advance “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology."

Trump claimed there has been a “concerted and widespread” effort over the past decade to rewrite American history by replacing “objective facts” with a “distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth," adding that it casts the “founding principles” of the United States in a “negative light.”

The order he signed puts Vice President JD Vance, who serves on the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents, in charge of overseeing efforts to “remove improper ideology” from all areas of the institution, including its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo.

It is the Republican president's latest salvo against pillars of society, such as universities and art that he has deemed to be too liberal. Trump recently had himself installed as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the aim of overhauling programming. The administration also forced Columbia University to make a slew of changes by threatening the Ivy League school with the loss of several hundred million dollars in federal funding.

The order hints at the return of statues of Confederate figures, many of which were taken down or replaced after the police killing of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is detested by Trump and other conservatives.

The order also calls for improvements to Independence Hall in Philadelphia by July 4, 2026, in time for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Trump specifically named the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016 near the White House, and the Women's History Museum, which is in development.

“Museums in our Nation's capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,” he said.

Linda St. Thomas, the Smithsonian Institution’s chief spokesperson, said in an email late Thursday, “We have no comment for now.”

Under Trump’s order, Vance will also work with the White House budget office to make sure future funding for the Smithsonian Institution isn’t spent on programs that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy” and see to it that the women’s history museum does not “recognize men as women in any respect.”

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex. It consists of 21 museums and the National Zoo. Eleven museums are located along the National Mall in Washington.

The institution was established with money from James Smithson, a British scientist who left his estate to the United States to found “at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”