Press Releases
Ranking Member Pingree: White House’s ‘Review’ of the Smithsonian Is Yet Another Propaganda Campaign‘For the President of the United States to suggest that he can dictate the Smithsonian’s curatorial decisions—what it displays, what information it conveys, and what stories it should tell—is disturbingly arrogant,’ Ranking Member Pingree said.
Washington,
August 13, 2025
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, released the following statement in response to the White House’s decision to conduct a review of Smithsonian museum exhibitions, materials and operations ahead of America’s 250th anniversary next year—and its directive to “celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions”: For the President of the United States to suggest that he can dictate the Smithsonian’s curatorial decisions—what it displays, what information it conveys, and what stories it should tell—is disturbingly arrogant. That he chose three acolytes with no relevant experience to lead this ridiculous cultural crusade—including Russell Vought, one of the chief architects of Project 2025—makes the decision even more alarming, and signals that this independent institution will now be pressured by the President’s political whims. The Smithsonian is more than a collection of museums. It’s an American treasure. It tells the story of our country (and our world) in a way that no book or documentary ever could. It aims to tell that story truthfully and completely—the good and the bad, the tragic and triumphant, forever reflecting our nation’s diversity, dynamism, and complicated past. The public can trust the Smithsonian. But the President isn’t interested in the truth or actual history. What he wants is propaganda. He wants the museums to present ‘unity, progress, and the enduring values that define the American story’, as if he is somehow the sole arbiter of what these words mean, or that they’re the only words that matter in telling that story. He wants to ‘remove divisive or partisan narratives’ that go against his narrow and whitewashed idea of what America is, as if struggle, sacrifice, and social change weren’t the driving forces behind the very unity, progress, and values that he claims to care about. He wants history without the hard truths—and a story of America wholly detached from reality. This is what despots and dictators do. As Ranking Member of the subcommittee that oversees the Smithsonian, I will do everything in my power to ensure he doesn’t get away with it—and that the Smithsonian continues to have the resources and expertise necessary to maintain public trust and fulfill its mission free of political interference from the White House.
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