Trump administration plans ideological warning signs for Smithsonian

The National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Allison Robbert/AP

Allison Robbert/AP

The Trump Administration says it is preparing a dozen signs for its Washington, D.C., museum sites that will warn visitors about the Smithsonian Institution in general, and the National Museum of American History in particular.

In letters to U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Jeff Merkley, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote that a “commitment to public transparency” and “academic honesty” required the administration to advise visitors that “the leadership of the Smithsonian and NMAH have altered the museum’s role from accurately and coherently telling America’s story to using the museum as a tool to advance personal, radical ideologies.”

Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, and Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, are the top members of the Senate Appropriations committee, which oversees Smithsonian funding.

The signs, which the administration says are temporary, will be placed on National Park Service land and will reflect President Trump’s July executive order, called “Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution.”

The Sept. 3 letter from Burgum outlines several grievances, including that Anthea Hartig, the director of the American History museum, “has stated that history is ‘a prime tool of social justice’,” and that the museum seeks “to legitimize illegal immigration and open borders.” It charges that several exhibits “present ideological viewpoints inconsistent with biology, including ideologies that sex is not binary.”

Mark Ehlers holds a sign outside the National Museum of American History in July 2026.

Allison Robbert/AP

Allison Robbert/AP

The letter also says that “visitors should be aware of Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch’s history of invidious discrimination and anti-white animus.”

The Smithsonian declined to comment on Burgum’s letter. Bunch, however, in a letter addressed to Smithsonian staffers in July, responded forcefully to a report that detailed the administration’s accusations of bias: “At the Smithsonian, our work is driven by scholarship, accuracy and an uncompromising commitment to tell the fullness of America’s story.

Bunch, who is highly respected in the worlds of academia and museums, announced on Sept. 8 that he would retire at the end of the year. He told NPR that the timing was not connected to attacks from the Trump Administration.

The Interior Department letter said the text for the signs is not yet finalized, and estimated they would cost $7,000 each, or about $84,000 total.

NPR has reached out to Murkowski for comment.

The Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans have been pressuring the Smithsonian through executive orders and hearings as part of an effort to change the culture of Washington, D.C. institutions and monuments. The proposed changes to the city have included renovating the Kennedy Center, and renaming it after Trump, and a proposed triumphal arch.

“This is another step in a well-planned pressure campaign by the Trump Administration to undermine the integrity and independence of the Smithsonian Institution,” Sen. Merkley said in a statement about the letter emailed to NPR. “I’ll fight like hell to protect the Smithsonian’s independence so that the Institution can continue to tell all of America’s story for generations to come.”

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