President Donald Trump issued a new executive order on Thursday evening (March 27) seeking to overhaul the Smithsonian Institution, targeting funding for programs that advance “divisive narratives.”
Under Trump’s order, Vice-President Vance, who serves on the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents, will lead the White House budget office to ensure that the institution’s funding is not spent on programs that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy.
“Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth. This revisionist movement seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light. Under this historical revision, our Nation’s unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights and human happiness is reconstructed as inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed,” the executive order reads.
In the order, Trump takes aim at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Women’s History Museum, which is under construction, and the American Art Museum.
“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,” Trump said.
In an email late Thursday, Linda St. Thomas, the Smithsonian Institution’s chief spokesperson, said, “We have no comment for now.”
The order also alluded to Confederate monuments being restored after many were taken down following the Black Lives Matter protest and the murder of George Floyd. The Trump administration will require the interior secretary to reinstate monuments, memorials, statues and similar properties that have been removed or changed since Jan. 1, 2020, to “perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology.”
Additionally, the order calls for Independence Hall to be vastly improved in Philadelphia by July 4, 2026, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The latest executive order recalled comes after the President took over the Kennedy Center last month. Trump forced Biden appointees from the board, which was formerly bipartisan, and made himself the new chairman.
The Smithsonian Institution, which contains 21 museums and the National Zoo, is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex. Eleven museums are located along the National Mall in Washington.
