The American Alliance of Museums reports that on 14 March President Trump issued an EO, titled ‘Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy’, directing further cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), an agency that already operates with minimal funding. Despite making up just 0.0046% of the federal budget, the IMLS plays a crucial role in supporting museums and libraries nationwide – a sector that contributes over $50 billion to the US economy and sustains more than 726,000 jobs. Furthermore, research indicates that museums receive bipartisan support with 96% of Americans supporting lawmakers who advocate for museums, and with 96% favouring the maintenance or increase of federal funding for these institutions.
On 27 March, Trump revealed his intentions to reshape the Smithsonian Institution with the executive order ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History’, which targets funding to programmes with ‘divisive narratives’ and ‘improper ideology’. Trump asserted that over the past decade, there has been a ‘concerted and widespread’ effort to distort US history by replacing ‘objective facts’ with ideologically driven narratives.
Under this order, Vice President JD Vance, who became a member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents due to his position in government, has been tasked with overseeing efforts to eliminate ‘improper ideology’ from Smithsonian-affiliated museums, education programmes, research centres, and the National Zoo. The order specifically names the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the forthcoming Women’s History Museum as institutions subject to review.
