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Smithsonian Institution Head Steps Down Amid Clash with Trump Administration
Confirmed
In Short: Lonnie Bunch III, the head of the Smithsonian Institution, announced his retirement amid tensions with the Trump administration over leadership and direction of the nation's museums.
Lonnie Bunch III, who has led the Smithsonian since 2019 and was the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, said he will leave the post by the end of the year.
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 follows a 2025 executive order directing officials to seek the removal of what the administration called 'improper ideology' from the Smithsonian.
The White House Domestic Policy Council issued a report blasting Smithsonian leaders as radical activists who cannot be trusted, accusing them of allowing progressive ideology to shape the presentation of American history.
Bunch's departure comes as the Trump administration has intensified scrutiny of the Smithsonian, accusing its leadership of creating a hostile work environment and allocating opportunities and funding based on race, ethnicity, and other protected characteristics.
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 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.
The Smithsonian is now under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology, according to the White House report, and cannot be trusted to tell America's story honestly and in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic.
What's still developing
- 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.
- Laura Ingraham exposes the left-wing curators behind radical exhibits at the Smithsonian.
- 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.
- He told friends after seeing last week’s letter from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum that he believed now was the time to step down and assist in the transition to new leadership, the person said.
- The person familiar said the Regents are forming a search committee and considering inside candidates to lead the Smithsonian during the transition, and Bunch told them he would stay on for three or four months to ease the changeover.