Democratic senators urged Smithsonian to resist the attempts of the White House to “intimidate the institution”: NPR

In a letter sent to the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution on Friday, LONNIE G. BUNCH, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CALIF.) And three other Democratic senators urged Bunch on Friday to resist any attempt by the White House to “intimidate the institution to go against its mission and value”.

The letter of the Four Democrats of the Senate comes for weeks after President Trump called the Smithsonian and the museums “throughout the country essentially, the last remaining segment of “I woke up.“On Truth Social, he said that the Smithsonian presents a story in the history of the country which concerns” how horrible our country is, how bad the slavery and how unrealized the oppressed – nothing on success, nothing brightness, nothing on the future. “”

The White House also published an unsigned memo last month specifically 22 exhibitions, live programs and other documents at the Smithsonian, entitled “President Trump is right on the Smithsonian”. NPR reported that some of the exhibitions were temporary and are no longer exposed.

The co -authors of the Friday letter are three senators with links with the institution: meaning. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NEV.) And Gary Peters (D-Mich.), The two current members of the Smithsonian Council of Regents; and Senator Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-ear.), The classification member of a Credit subcommittee who is a court on the federal funding of the Smithsonian. The letter was provided at NPR by the Padilla office.

Visitors are traveling an exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History on August 28, 2025 in Washington, DC

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In the letter, the senators said that the surveillance of the Smithsonian rests with the Congress of its foundationNot the White House.

“As you know,” wrote the senators in part, “the institution of Smithsonian is a national treasure, and it is also a public-private partnership managed as an independent federal trust. It is not an executive agency on which the president can exercise unilateral control over its historical, scientific or artistic content. The institution was created by the Congress to take care of James Smithson and to find “an establishment for an increase and knowledge. “In recent years, it has been funded with a relatively uniform distribution of private donations to support its programming, and federal credits provided by the congress to support its main operations, including the maintenance of installations, further stressing its unique status.”

The letter continued: “Congress awarded the responsibility of the trust of this donation of private property in the United States and its current mission to the Smithsonian Board of Regents, and not to the executive power.”

Senators say they work so that federal funds rush to the institution.

NPR contacted the White House and the Smithsonian Institution to comment.

In a written statement, Padilla told NPR: “I take seriously my responsibility to make sure that the Smithsonian and his Board of Regents defend his independence and tell the whole story of America – which recognizes both the bright and difficult chapters of our history. The Smithsonian must remain free from political interference, no matter who will continue to protect Its autonomy and to support the millions of visitors who appreciate it every year. “

The Trump administration announced last month that it intended to audit Exhibitions and assets in eight Smithsonian museums, including the National Museum of African-American History and Culture and the National Museum of American History, to determine whether or not they are aligned with the “President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, suppress the accounts of division or supporters and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions”. Trump promised on social networks to extend his examination of American museums, promising to “start with the Smithsonian and go from there. “”

Wednesday, The New York Times reported This group, in an internal note of the Smithsonian staff, said that he had set up an internal team that will examine the documents and information that the institution will transform into the White House, committing to maintain the scholarship at the Smithsonian Independent, non -partisan and intellectually rigorous.

Senators in their letter referred to Bunch’s plans, writing: “We expect this examination process to be carried out in an appropriate manner, without political interference, and to the institution so that the board of directors and the congress is not updated regularly on this exam.

Jennifer Vanasco has published this story.