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GOP Senator Challenges Trump Over Smithsonian History Directive
The senators seek details on sign locations, costs and staffing as the White House says 63% of conservatives oppose political pressure on museums.
- Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, and Senator Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, pressed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum this week for details regarding President Donald Trump's directive to install warning signs outside the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.
- Following a White House Domestic Policy Council report, President Donald Trump's July executive order titled 'Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution' claims the museum promotes 'ideological activism' over historical scholarship, specifically citing exhibits on race, gender, immigration, and sexuality.
- Under the proposed directive, temporary signs would be placed on National Park Service-managed sidewalks, labeling museum displays as examples of 'degeneracy' and recommending new signs for America's 250th anniversary to counter perceived ideological bias.
- Murkowski and Merkley questioned whether the National Park Service has ever contested scholarly work, emphasizing that the Smithsonian Institution has spent 180 years chronicling history and stating, 'There is nothing more American than telling our story truthfully.'
- Rejecting the administration's characterization, Museum Director Anthea Hartig maintains the institution follows rigorous historical scholarship. The conflict reflects a broader debate over the curation of American history at federally funded institutions.
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ANALYSIS | Trump's latest push to reshape U.S. history? Signs at the Smithsonian
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is at the centre of an effort by the Trump administration that observers say is part of a broader attempt to reshape the stories of the United States as told by the country's cultural institutions.
·Ottawa, Canada
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources3
Leaning Left1Leaning Right2Center0Last UpdatedBias Distribution67% Right
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources lean Right
67% Right
L 33%
R 67%
Factuality
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