Jan. 14 (UPI) — The Smithsonian Institute director told staff members via email that he had submitted documents and materials to the White House in an effort to be “transparent and open.”
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III sent the materials on Tuesday in response to an ultimatum the White House delivered on Dec. 18, saying that if it didn’t submit documentation of its exhibits, wall labels, programming plans for America’s 250th birthday and more, the government would withhold federal funding.
“The American people will have no patience” for any museum that is “uncomfortable conveying a positive view of American history,” Domestic Policy Council director Vince Haley and White House budget director Russell Vought said.
In the email, Bunch told the staff that information included materials “in several galleries” and that the institution would “continue to provide responsive information on a rolling basis.”
“As a public service institution, we are committed to being transparent and open,” Bunch said. “As we have always done, the Smithsonian will continue to engage with the White House, Congress, and government stakeholders to provide relevant and appropriate materials about our mission, organization, exhibitions, programs, and public offerings.”
The ultimatum stems from a March executive order called Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History. The order directs the Smithsonian to eliminate “divisive” and “anti-American ideology” from its museums.
The federal budget for the Smithsonian is appropriated by Congress, but it’s managed by the Office of Management and Budget. The OMB is controlled by the White House and led by Vought.
In the demand letter, Vought and Haley said all the materials had to be delivered by Jan. 13, and reminded the Smithsonian that 62% of its $1 billion budget depends on federal funds.
“As you may know, funds apportioned for the Smithsonian Institution are only available for use in a manner consistent with” the executive order, the letter said.
Last week, the National Portrait Gallery switched a portrait of President Donald Trump and changed wording in its label, removing information about his two impeachments. In August, mention of the impeachments was removed from the National Museum of American History.
“In the thousands of words that are on the Smithsonian walls you’ve picked out what, five things that bother you? That’s the best you can do?” David C. Ward, a former senior historian at the National Portrait Gallery, asked in an interview with The Washington Post, referencing criticism.
Ward said he’s been in seminars where academics “insulted the Smithsonian as being the normcore, boring, uncool, reactionary museum,” he said. “It was personally frustrating working there” because the museum stayed so straight down the middle. But,”the element of political and academic neutrality is one of the strong points of the Smithsonian’s work.”
Vice President JD Vance is a member of the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents, and Trump has directed him to make sure new appointees align with the administration’s agenda. Up to six seats could open up this year on the 17-member panel.