Trump administration threatens to cut off agencies’ ties to Smithsonian
The letter says agencies cannot support the Smithsonian under current leadership and alleges diversity practices may violate anti-discrimination laws.
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and White House Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley warned federal agencies in a letter that they cannot support the Smithsonian under current leadership, threatening to halt artifact loans, procurement assistance and discretionary grants.
- Dated Friday, the letter alleges the Smithsonian may have violated anti-discrimination laws through diversity practices. The administration has cracked down on such initiatives, claiming they discriminate against white people and men.
- President Donald Trump has previously threatened funding over the institution's focus on slavery and ordered signs installed outside the National Museum of American History to reflect his administration's criticism, alongside launching a museum review last year.
- Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch dismissed White House claims of "thinly veiled anti-Americanism" as unfair, while historians and civil rights advocates warned the administration's actions risk reversing social progress and undermining critical historical acknowledgement.
- Comprising 21 museums, galleries, and the National Zoo, the Smithsonian operates a vast research complex vital to U.S. history and culture. The threat to withhold federal cooperation jeopardizes this network's operational stability.
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Trump administration says agencies may stop working with the Smithsonian
By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration has suggested federal agencies may stop working with the Smithsonian Institution if its leadership does not change, ramping up a monthslong pressure campaign to align the world’s largest museum complex with its views. In an August 28 letter to the Smithsonian’s governing body that was
WH Sends New Threatening Letter To Smithsonian
The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration is threatening to cut off executive agencies’ cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution, the latest escalation in President Donald Trump’s fight to control presentations of American history. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and White House Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley sent the Smithsonian’s governing board a letter Friday warning … The post WH Sends New Threatening Letter To …
The Independent
The Independent (US)Trump threatens to cut federal ties with Smithsonian over anti-Americanism claims
Trump's administration has threatened to cut federal agencies' support for the Smithsonian, marking its latest escalation against the institution
The Washington Post
Daily News UpdateTrump administration threatens to cut off agencies’ ties to Smithsonian
Echoing White House attacks, an Interior Department letter threatened the institution “under current leadership” with loss of support for sourcing artifacts and more.
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