by WorldTribune Staff, September 3, 2026 Non-AI Real World News
The Trump administration has threatened to cut federal support for the Smithsonian over what it describes as a shift from its mission to a “radical political agenda.”
In a letter sent on Aug. 28 to the Smithsonian Board of Regents, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Vince Haley, assistant to the president for domestic policy, reminded the institution of its charter to be the “foremost steward of American history and culture,” with the “responsibility to preserve and present the American story faithfully.”
However, a White House Domestic Policy Council report documents changes to the National Museum of American History (NMAH) including the adoption of a new “Interpretive Plan.”
These changes, Burgum and Haley wrote, have “reframed” “NMAH away from presenting a coherent and accurate account of the American story” to advancing political agendas around race and identity, gender and sexuality, environmental change, and immigration, according to a report by Just the News.
“Indeed, the White House Domestic Policy Council’s report is replete with alarming examples of how this radical ideology is reflected across exhibitions, educational materials and public programming, causing historic subjects and artifacts to be presented as vehicles for this ideology while packaged as educational programming,” the letter states.
“The ultimate effect of this radical ideology is to weaken our shared American identity, erase our heritage and condition the public to accept these attempts to weaponize our national institutions and traditions in support of a radical political agenda.”
The Smithsonian Institution receives $1 billion from Congress each year as supported by executive departments and agencies.
“Those executive departments and agencies cannot in good conscience continue to support the Smithsonian under current leadership by, for example, loaning artifacts for exhibits, enabling procurement processes and making discretionary grants,” the letter warned.
