Four Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives—Joseph Morelle, Terri Sewell, Norma Torres, and Julie Johnson—sent a letter to Vice President J.D. Vance on Thursday urging him to reject an overhaul of the Smithsonian Institution. The letter responds to President Donald Trump's March 27 executive order, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," which aims to eliminate "divisive" and "anti-American" content from Smithsonian exhibitions and restore removed monuments. The lawmakers argue that the order threatens the curatorial independence that has made the Smithsonian a globally respected cultural institution.
This matters because the Smithsonian is a federally funded institution receiving 62% of its $1 billion annual budget from Congress, and the executive order gives Vice President Vance authority to determine what content is "improper." The dispute highlights a broader political battle over how American history is presented in public museums, with implications for curatorial freedom, federal arts funding, and the role of government in cultural institutions. The American Historical Association and many art professionals have also condemned the mandate, signaling significant opposition from the academic and museum communities.