Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III announced his retirement Tuesday, exiting as the Trump administration moves to dismantle years of race-centered, anti-American revisionism at the nation's taxpayer-funded cultural institutions — and the question now is whether the public finally gets its museums back.
The Smithsonian operates 21 museums, 20 libraries, and the National Zoo — all supported in part by your tax dollars. For years, those institutions pushed a divisive ideology that framed American history as a litany of oppressions rather than the story the founders set in motion. Trump is now forcing a reckoning, and the leadership that oversaw that capture is departing.
Bunch, 73, the first African American to lead the Smithsonian, cited personal reasons but acknowledged the toll. "It has been stressful," he told the New York Times. "And at a certain point, I'd like to wake up in the morning and not look at my cellphone." He also admitted to strategic calculation: "My goal has been to win, not to make me feel good. To win — to protect the Smithsonian — there were times I would fight, make clear what the red lines were. And there were other times I let things go."
The pressure campaign has been sustained. In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order accusing the Smithsonian of falling "under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology" and directing steps to "restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness." In May, he attempted to fire National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet, calling her "a highly partisan person" and "a strong supporter" of the diversity and equity programs his administration is dismantling. Bunch pushed back — the Smithsonian asserted he held hiring and firing authority — but Sajet resigned in June 2025 anyway.
On July 4, the White House released a 162-page report titled "Saving America's Story" that accused museum leadership of "extreme political activism" and history erasure. Later that month, Trump ordered the National Museum of American History to install signs warning visitors about "inaccurate information" — signs that have yet to appear. And just last week, the Interior Department threatened to cut off support, alleging Smithsonian facilities present a "radical ideology" that weakens "shared American identity."
The Guardian and NBC both framed Trump's actions as "attacks" on the institution's "independence." But that word does a lot of work. The Smithsonian is not a private foundation — it is a trust instrumentality of the United States, funded by Congress. "Independence" in this context means insulation from the elected officials accountable to the voters who pay the bills. When both outlets invoke the word without examination, they're protecting left-wing institutional capture from democratic accountability, not defending some neutral principle.
Bunch's replacement will be chosen by the Smithsonian's 17-member board of regents, led by Chief Justice John Roberts and including Vice President JD Vance, six members of Congress, and nine private citizens. Three of those citizen terms have expired, and the Trump administration has not yet named replacements — which means the board's composition is about to shift.
Roberts praised Bunch for having "pursued excellence in the telling of our nation's story." Whether that story has been told faithfully or warped by ideology is the very question now in play — and who controls the board will determine the answer.
