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Smithsonian Head Steps Down Amid Clash with Trump Administration
Confirmed
In Short: Lonnie Bunch III, the head of the Smithsonian Institution, announced his retirement, citing a clash with the Trump administration over leadership and direction of the nation’s museums.
Lonnie Bunch III, the head of the Smithsonian Institution, announced his retirement Tuesday, stepping down amid an escalating clash with the Trump administration over the leadership and direction of the nation’s museums.
In a press release, Bunch said, 'It is with very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude that I announce my retirement from the Smithsonian.
The pressure on Bunch followed a 2025 executive order directing officials to seek the removal of 'improper ideology' from the Smithsonian, according to reports.
The administration accused the Smithsonian leadership of allowing progressive ideology to shape its presentation of American history and raising concerns about potential violations of federal nondiscrimination law.
Bunch, who has led the Smithsonian since 2019 and was the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, praised his tenure but noted the challenges he faced.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who serves as chancellor of the Smithsonian, praised Bunch’s tenure and said the institution would work with him to ensure a smooth transition.
Bunch’s departure comes as the Trump administration has intensified scrutiny of the Smithsonian, accusing its leadership of allowing progressive ideology to shape its presentation of American history and raising concerns about potential violations of federal nondiscrimination law.
Laura Ingraham, a Fox News contributor, highlighted the left-wing curators behind radical exhibits at the Smithsonian, adding to the controversy surrounding Bunch’s leadership.
What's still developing
- In a letter recently made public by the Department of the Interior, the administration said the Smithsonian leadership’s "institutional culture may have resulted in significant violations of Federal antidiscrimination law," including allegedly creating a hostile work environment and allocating opportunities, funding and other benefits based on race, ethnicity and other protected characteristics.
- Bunch first joined the Smithsonian in 1978 and has spent nearly four decades at the institution, apart from a period when he served as president of the Chicago Historical Society.
- Bunch became the Smithsonian’s 14th secretary in June 2019, making him the first African American and first historian to hold the position.
- “I have spent nearly half of my life working at and being part of the Smithsonian family, and what a privilege it has been,” said Bunch, who became secretary in 2019.
- “Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology,” the order said.
- “The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future,” he wrote in the Truth Social post.
- As the country was celebrating its 250th anniversary, the White House Domestic Policy Council issued a report blasting Smithsonian leaders as radical activists who cannot be trusted.
- “The Smithsonian Institution, and the National Museum of American History in particular, under its current leadership and current interpretive ideology, cannot be trusted to tell America’s story honestly and in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic,” the report said.