Smithsonian ordered to remove 'race-centered ideology'

Summary

Trump signed EO 14253 "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" on March 27, 2025, directing the Vice President to work with the Smithsonian Board of Regents to eliminate "race-centered ideology" from all Smithsonian museums, including explicitly targeting the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The White House also ordered a comprehensive content review of eight Smithsonian museums (a first phase) in August 2025 in advance of the US 250th anniversary.

What happened

The order directed the VP to work through the Smithsonian Board of Regents to "remove improper ideology" from museums, education centers, and the National Zoo. It directed the Vice President and the OMB Director to work with Congress so future Smithsonian appropriations prohibit spending on exhibits or programs that "divide Americans based on race." The order criticized the NMAAHC and a Smithsonian American Art Museum exhibit over their treatment of race, and the planned American Women's History Museum over its plans regarding male athletes in women's sports. In August 2025, the White House ordered a comprehensive review of eight Smithsonian museums to align content with Trump's interpretation of American history before the 2026 US 250th anniversary celebration. The Smithsonian had already closed its Office of Diversity in January 2025 following an earlier Trump order on DEI.

Impact on the United States

Content about racial history, women's history, and gender is subject to political review and possible removal from the nation's free public museums; limits the historical information available to the nearly 17 million annual Smithsonian visitors.

Documented effects

1. Jan 2025The Smithsonian had already closed its central Office of Diversity in January 2025, after an earlier Trump executive order on DEI[4]
2. Aug 2025August 2025: White House ordered comprehensive review of 8 Smithsonian museums for alignment with the administration's historical interpretation[5]
3. EO directed the Vice President and OMB Director to work with Congress to bar future Smithsonian spending on exhibits that "divide Americans based on race"[1]
4. Jul 24, 2026A second order, EO 14416 (July 24, 2026), directs the Interior Department to post temporary signage on National Park Service walkways outside the National Museum of American History[3]
5. Jul 4, 2026July 4, 2026: a 162-page White House Domestic Policy Council report accused the National Museum of American History of "institutional capture by a radical, activist ideology"; Secretary Lonnie Bunch called it "not a fair characterization"[6]

Why this is rated limited

Directs content review of museum exhibits, a narrow harm to public-history programming with no concrete removals adjudicated as harm yet.

content review ongoing; no court has blocked the order

Corrections & updates [5]

Every change to a fact on this page after publication is logged here, newest first.

1. Sep 29, 2026UpdatedKey facts

   Updated: a second executive order, EO 14416 (July 24, 2026), directs temporary signage outside the National Museum of American History.[3]

2. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedWhat happened

   The order directs the Vice President and the OMB Director, not Cabinet members, to work with Congress so future Smithsonian appropriations bar spending on exhibits that "divide Americans based on race." The order criticized the American Women's History Museum over its plans regarding male athletes in women's sports, not over race.[1]

3. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedEffects

   The Smithsonian closed its Office of Diversity in January 2025, before this March 2025 order, following an earlier Trump executive order on DEI (NPR). The Art Museum of the Americas is not a Smithsonian museum, and neither claim appeared in the cited order, so that part was removed. The August 2025 review covered eight museums as a first phase (CNN), not all exhibitions, and the visitor figure is corrected from ~30 million to the nearly 17 million reported by NPR and CNN.[4][5]

4. Sep 29, 2026UpdatedEffects

   On July 4, 2026 the White House Domestic Policy Council issued a 162-page report accusing the National Museum of American History of "institutional capture by a radical, activist ideology"; Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch said it was "not a fair characterization" (NPR).[6]

5. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedDisplay copy

   The summary line said the order 'directed removal of content on race and gender'; per the record, it directed the Vice President to work through the Board of Regents to remove 'improper ideology'. The line now says so and adds the August 2025 review. The summary tied the executive order itself to the 250th anniversary; per the record, the August 2025 museum review was the step tied to the anniversary. The summary now separates the two.[1][5]

Sources [6]