The order directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to restore federal parks and monuments that have been ‘improperly removed’ in the past five years.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 27 directing the removal of what he deemed “improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology” from facilities operated by the Smithsonian Institution.
The order states that Vice President JD Vance, who is a member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, will oversee the removal of such ideology from the institute’s museums, research centers, and the National Zoo.
“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,” it stated. “This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.”
Under Trump’s order, the institution will be prohibited from funding exhibits that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans by race, or promote ideologies inconsistent with Federal law.”
It also states that the American Women’s History Museum, which is currently under development, will only be allowed to host exhibits or programs that celebrate the achievements of women and not those of transgender-identifying individuals, according to the order’s fact sheet.
The order directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to restore federal parks, monuments, memorials, statues, and markers that have been “improperly removed or changed in the last five years to perpetuate a false revision of history or improperly minimize or disparage certain historical figures or events.”
Trump also instructed Burgum to complete the restoration of Independence Hall by July 4, 2026, ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence signing, according to the fact sheet.
In his order, Trump accused the Biden administration of advancing “corrosive ideology” at the museums, including at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, where the former administration had sponsored training led by an organization “that advocates dismantling ‘Western foundations’ and ’interrogating institutional racism.’”
The order states that the American Women’s History Museum intended to host programs that celebrate “the exploits of male athletes participating in women’s sports.”
