The Trump administration said that it wants to review more material ahead of the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.
The White House last week warned the Smithsonian that if the museum system does not submit more documentation to the administration to enable a review of its content, funds may be withheld from the institution.
In a letter sent to the Smithsonian’s secretary on Dec. 18, the administration said that the museum submitted “notably incomplete” records to the White House in September. The letter said that the requested material now needs to be sent by Jan. 13, 2026.
“While we appreciate receiving the initial document production, that submission fell far short of what was requested, and the overwhelming majority of requested items remain outstanding,” said the letter, which was directed to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III.
The White House wrote that “as you may know, funds apportioned for the Smithsonian Institution are only available for use in a manner consistent with Executive Order 14253, ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,’ and the fulfillment of the requests set forth in our August 12, 2025 letter,” referring to a March executive action that seeks to stop what it says is a “widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history.”
“Current wall texts and didactics, exhibition proposals and budgets, object checklists for upcoming programming, internal governance manuals, and chain-of-command records for content approval are not obscure archival requests,” the Dec. 18 letter stated.
“These are the records that every accredited museum is expected to maintain and produce without delay, as they provide the basis for responsible stewardship of significant national collections and for meeting the rigorous transparency standards imposed by federal law, the Smithsonian’s own directives, and the professional standards of the museum field.”
In August, the White House said in a letter that it would start reviewing the Smithsonian’s exhibitions and museums ahead of the 250th birthday of the United States.
The review of the Smithsonian will initially focus on 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.
“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 said in its August letter.
