Trump attacks Smithsonian as administration targets exhibits

Crockett’s remarks and Blight’s response came during the GOP-led Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee hearing titled, “Rewriting American History: Examining the Smithsonian’s Efforts to Reshape the Past.”

The hearing reflects the Trump administration’s criticism of the Smithsonian’s presentation of American history. As Blavity previously reported, the Smithsonian has become a target of President Donald Trump’s opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with the administration calling for changes to exhibits it says conflict with its view of American history.

In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order seeking to eliminate federal funding for Smithsonian “exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.”

On July 4, the Trump administration issued a report accusing the Smithsonian of engaging in “anti-white activism” and distorting American history.

Tuesday’s hearing by the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, which is affiliated with the Trump administration’s DOGE initiative, continued that scrutiny.

The hearing featured conservatives aligned with the Trump administration, including Heritage Foundation senior fellow Mike Gonzalez and Hillsdale College professor Matthew Spalding, who served on Trump’s 1776 Commission.

It also featured Blight, who recently wrote a New York Times opinion essay accusing Trump of weaponizing history and engaging in “toxic culture war politics” through his attacks on the Smithsonian.

Also appearing was Anthea Hartig, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. She is mentioned multiple times in the administration’s July 4 report, which accuses her of being “more interested in political activism than historical scholarship.”

Hartig fielded questions from Republicans, including one asking whether “Mickey Mouse [is] racist?” — a reference to a Smithsonian exhibit discussing connections between early depictions of the character and blackface minstrelsy.

She also defended the museum.

“The museum does not take sides in America’s political debates,” Hartig told the subcommittee, adding that the White House report “does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum.”

As the Trump administration continues its criticism of the Smithsonian and other cultural institutions, historians and Democratic lawmakers have pushed back, arguing that preserving an accurate account of American history remains essential.