White House Conditions $1.25 Billion in Smithsonian Funding on Content Oversight
Washington, Sunday, 21 December 2025.
Demanding a “positive view” of history, the administration threatens to freeze two-thirds of the museum’s budget if internal records aren’t submitted by January 13.
Executive Ultimatum
The confrontation between the White House and the Smithsonian Institution escalated on Thursday, December 18, when Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought sent a formal letter to Secretary Lonnie Bunch [1][6]. The administration has explicitly conditioned the release of federal funds on the museum system’s full compliance with Executive Order 14253, titled ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History’ [1]. Although the initial documentation was due in September, officials assert that previous submissions ‘fell far short’ of the required oversight, necessitating a new compliance deadline of January 13, 2026 [1][3].
Fiscal Leverage and Ideological Control
The financial implications of this threat are substantial, as the Smithsonian relies on federal appropriations for approximately $1.25 billion of its annual funding, which constitutes roughly two-thirds of its operating budget [3]. The administration is utilizing this fiscal leverage to ensure the museums align with a directive to ‘celebrate American exceptionalism’ and remove what it classifies as ‘divisive or partisan narratives’ [1]. In their correspondence, White House officials emphasized that the American public would have ‘no patience’ for institutions that are ‘uncomfortable conveying a positive view of American history,’ a stance taken as the administration prepares for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations [2][6].
Institutional Independence
Secretary Bunch responded on Friday, December 19, attributing the delay in providing the extensive internal records to the recent government shutdown and the ‘time consuming’ nature of the request [1]. While expressing a willingness to share data, Bunch firmly maintained that ‘all content, programming, and curatorial decisions are made by the Smithsonian’ [1]. This defense of autonomy is supported by Democratic Senators, including Alex Padilla and Gary Peters, who argue that the Smithsonian functions as an independent federal trust managed by a Board of Regents, rather than as an executive agency subject to unilateral presidential control [3].