(WASHINGTON) — Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III asserted the Smithsonian Institution’s control over its programming and content this week in a letter addressed to the White House after the Trump administration demanded a review of the institution’s exhibits, a Smithsonian official confirmed to ABC News.
The White House announced last month that it plans to conduct a wide-ranging review of the Smithsonian’s museum exhibitions, materials and operations to ensure they align with President Donald Trump’s view of American history.
In the Sept. 3 letter, Bunch responded to Trump’s demand that his administration review the Smithsonian’s exhibitions, materials and operations. It also said that the Smithsonian, which is the world’s largest museum complex, will remain control over programming and content and that it will do its own review of exhibits, material and operations, the official told ABC News.
Following its internal review, Bunch said he will brief the White House on its findings, but the Smithsonian will not be sending a formal report to the White House, the Smithsonian official added. The museum’s review of exhibits is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
Asked about the Smithsonian’s internal review and whether the White House will insist on being involved, a White House official told ABC News that the Smithsonian “cannot credibly audit itself.”
“The Smithsonian is not an autonomous institution, as 70% of its funding comes from taxpayers. While we acknowledge the Smithsonian’s recognition of its own programmatic failures and is moving toward critical introspection, it cannot credibly audit itself,” White House official Lindsey Halligan said. “By definition, an ‘audit’ must be neutral and objective. The American taxpayers deserve nothing less, which is why the White House will ensure the audit is conducted impartially. This is non-negotiable.”
ABC News reached out to the Smithsonian but a request for comment was not immediately returned.
Bunch, who met with Trump at the White House on Aug. 28 over lunch, referenced the Smithsonian’s response to the White House and his conversations with Trump during the lunch in a Sept. 3 letter to the institution’s employees, which was obtained by ABC News.
In the letter, Bunch told Smithsonian employees that he communicated to the president during their Aug. 28 meeting that the Smithsonian’s “independence is paramount.” He also told employees that the Institution remains committed to telling the “American story” and “will always be, a place that welcomes all Americans and the world.”
And in response to the White House’s request for information, Bunch informed employees that he has assembled a small team to advise him regarding what information can be provided to the White House and on what timeline.
The White House’s demand for a review comes after the president signed an executive order on March 27, placing Vice President J.D. Vance in charge of supervising efforts to “remove improper ideology” from all areas of the Smithsonian and targeted funding for programs that advance “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology.”
The order — called “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” — directed Vance and Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum to restore federal parks, monuments, memorials and statues “that have been improperly removed or changed in the last five years to perpetuate a false revision of history or improperly minimize or disparage certain historical figures or events.”
The Smithsonian also affirmed its autonomy from outside influences in a June 9 statement after Trump announced that he fired National Portrait Gallery head Kim Sajet for allegedly being a “highly partisan person.” Sajet resigned on June 13, a Smithsonian spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
But in an Aug. 12 letter sent to Bunch, the White House said that administration officials will be leading a “comprehensive internal review of selected Smithsonian museums and exhibitions” in order “to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”
The American Historical Association (AHA), which represents more than 10,000 historians in the country, including some who work at the Smithsonian, released a statement on Aug. 15 reaffirming its support for the Smithsonian and its historians, including curators who put together the exhibits.
“The AHA urges the administration and the American public to respect and value the expertise of the historians, curators, and other museum professionals who conduct the review and revision of historical content according to the professional standards of our discipline,” the AHA said in the statement. “Historians practice our craft with integrity. Political interference into professional curatorial practices and museum and educational content places at risk the integrity and accuracy of historical interpretation and stands to erode public trust in our shared institutions.”
ABC News’ John Santucci, Hannah Demissie and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
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