Trump executive order on Smithsonian targets funding for programs with ‘improper ideology’ – Associated Press (AP) – March 27, 2025

Politics

Trump executive order on Smithsonian targets funding for programs with ‘improper ideology’
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Updated 6:45 PM PDT, March 27, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targets funding for programs that advance “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology,” the latest step in a broadside against culture he deems too liberal.

Trump claimed there has been a “concerted and widespread” effort over the past decade to rewrite American history by replacing “objective facts” with a “distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth,” adding that it casts the “founding principles” of the United States in a “negative light.”

The order he signed behind closed doors puts Vice President JD Vance, who serves on the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents, in charge of overseeing efforts to “remove improper ideology” from all areas of the institution, including its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo.

Source Links: Trump order on Smithsonian targets programs with improper ideology | AP News