Lonnie Bunch Announces Retirement as Smithsonian Secretary
Bunch said the decision was personal after 38 years at the Smithsonian, which is now under a national search for his successor.
- On Tuesday, Lonnie G. Bunch III announced his retirement after seven years as the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian, describing his tenure as a profound privilege and calling the institution one of the great loves of his life.
- Bunch began his career in the late 1970s when Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins hired him to work in the education department, later returning to lead the NMAAHC before his 2019 appointment as Secretary.
- His tenure expanded the institution's roster of 19 museums by adding two new members: the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum and the National Museum of the American Latino, cementing institutional growth.
- Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, who serves as the Smithsonian chancellor, said the Board of Regents will manage the transition and ensure a smooth succession for Bunch's replacement.
- Bunch described the Smithsonian as a "national classroom," emphasizing that the institution's work helps the nation understand its complex history and remains essential to America's self-understanding.
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After seven years marked, more recently, by attacks by the US President's government, Donald Trump, Lonnie G. Bunch III announced on Tuesday that he will leave Smithsonian's post as secretary — the largest museum, education and research complex in the United States. The White House intensified criticism of the way Smithsonian presents American history and values, causing concern among some, who see the movement as an attack on the autonomy of th…
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch resigns amid attacks from Trump administration
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie Bunch speaks during an event at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History on Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (WASHINGTON) — Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch is stepping
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