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Trump administration threatens to cut off agencies’ ties to Smithsonian
The administration said Smithsonian diversity practices may violate anti-discrimination laws and asked its leaders to meet as federal support faces review.
- 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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9 Articles
The Washington PostReposted by 
Daily News Update
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.
·Washington, United States
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Total News Sources9
Leaning Left2Leaning Right2Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution43% Center
Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources are Center
43% Center
L 29%
C 43%
R 28%
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