President Donald Trump has ordered the installation of new temporary exhibits or signage outside the National Museum of American History, intended to warn visitors about the "Ideological Capture" of the institution. The directive stems from a White House report released in July, which accused the museum and its leadership of presenting a "radical view of American history."
The executive order states that such signage should notify visitors that museum exhibits "should be renovated consistent with the findings in the Report" and direct them to resources for "accurate information regarding America's history." The Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Park Service, has been tasked with installing these signs along public walkways leading to the museum.
Additionally, the order mandates the installation of new signage or exhibits on National Park Service-maintained land around the museum that "corrects inaccurate information presented in the Museum" concerning the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. The White House alleges the museum "failed to appropriately honor" these figures on the nation's 250th anniversary.
In response to the White House report, NMAH Director Anthea Hartig previously testified before Congress, asserting that the museum "does not take sides in America's political debates." She stated that the museum's work is governed by "Smithsonian standards of scholarship, accuracy, independence, and nonpartisanship" and that its mission is to "preserve and document the evidence of American life in all of its breadth, so that the public can encounter the past and draw their own conclusions."
Hartig acknowledged that the Smithsonian takes the concerns raised in the White House report "seriously" but maintained that the report "does not fairly or accurately" represent the museum's work. She invited lawmakers to visit the museum to see its contents firsthand, arguing it tells the "full sweep of history, our triumphs and our struggles."
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, in an internal letter to staff, echoed Hartig's sentiment, stating the report was "not a fair characterization of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History." He affirmed that the Smithsonian's work is driven by scholarship and accuracy, with an "uncompromising commitment to tell the fullness of America's story."
The White House report was initiated by Trump's March 27, 2025 executive order, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," which directed Vice President J.D. Vance to consult on removing "improper ideology" from Smithsonian institutions, particularly materials that cast America in a "negative light." The Smithsonian Institution, founded in 1846, oversees 21 museums and galleries, as well as the National Zoo. It receives approximately 62% of its more than $1 billion in annual federal funding, with the remainder coming from private sources and enterprise revenues. The institution is governed by a 17-member Board of Regents, and Bunch has repeatedly affirmed its independence from political influence.