Metropolitan Museum of Art director Max Hollein stated in an interview with French publication Le Quotidien de l'Art that the Trump administration's push to eliminate federal DEI programs will not affect the Met, as it is a private organization not subject to those executive orders. The interview, conducted during the Centre Pompidou's 'TransFORMS' exhibition dedicated to Hollein's father, architect Hans Hollein, also covered deaccessioning, repatriation, and the upcoming opening of the renovated Michael C. Rockefeller Wing.
Hollein's stance matters because it positions the Met as a non-partisan institution maintaining its own programmatic identity amid a broader cultural and political shift. While federally funded museums like the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian have halted DEI programs, the Met's reliance on a diverse donor base in New York's strong philanthropic environment allows it to resist political pressure. This highlights the ongoing tension between federal policy and private institutional autonomy in the art world.