In New Executive Order, Trump Seeks to Remake the Smithsonian in his MAGA Image

In a March 27 executive order, President Trump has directed Vice President J.D. Vance “to remove improper ideology” from the Smithsonian and to bring the vaunted institution in line with the administration’s views.  

“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,” the executive order declares. “It is the policy of my Administration to restore Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing.”

The order commands Vance, “in consultation with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Associate Staff Secretary, Lindsey Halligan,” remove allegedly improper ideology from “the Smithsonian Institution and its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo.” In addition, the order moves to “prohibit expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.”  

The order comes a week after a statement by Keith Sonderling, the newly installed acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, sparked fears that IMLS—which was targeted for closure in a March 14 executive order—could also be transformed into a mouthpiece for the administration. “We will revitalize IMLS and restore a focus on patriotism, ensuring we preserve our country’s core values, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country in future generations,” Sonderling said in an official statement following his swearing in last week, in which he also commited to “steering" IMLS "in lockstep with this Administration."

As of press time, Smithsonian officials did not respond to requests for comment.

The Smithsonian is one of the world’s largest and most respected education and research institutions, with dozens of museums, libraries, and research centers, as well as a publishing program. Notably, it is not an executive branch agency, and is in fact “a trust instrumentality” of the United States, run by a Board of Regents, which, according to the Smithsonian website includes “the Chief Justice, the Vice President, three members of the Senate, three members of the House of Representatives, and nine citizen members appointed by Joint Resolution of Congress.”

In addition to ordering Vance to rid the Smithsonian of allegedly “improper” ideology, the executive order also directs the Secretary of the Interior to determine which “public monuments” have been “removed or changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history,” under the previous administration, and to “reinstate pre-existing monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties, as appropriate,” and to ensure that all public monuments within the Department of the Interior’s jurisdiction “do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times), and instead focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”