Trump fires director of the National Portrait Gallery
It was unclear if Trump can dismiss Smithsonian leaders. The termination of Kim Sajet marks the president’s first action against an institution he has vowed to purge of “anti-American ideology.”
The National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum building in Washington D.C. on April 1, 2025. (Tierney L. Cross / For The Washington Post)
May 30, 2025 at 2:55 p.m. EDT, 51 minutes ago, 4 min
By Janay Kingsberry and Maura Judkis
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has fired the director of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet, whom he called “highly partisan.” The dismissal marks the first action Trump has taken against the Smithsonian Institution since an executive order he signed earlier this year that promised to eliminate “divisive narratives” and “anti-American ideology” from the museum and research body, which is partially funded by the federal government.
“Upon the request and recommendation of many people, I am herby terminating the employment of Kim Sajet as Director of the National Portrait Gallery,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. “She is a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position. Her replacement will be named shortly.”
It is unclear if the president has authority to dismiss Sajet. The Smithsonian’s programming is not under the purview of the executive branch, and personnel decisions for senior-level Smithsonian museum positions are made by Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III. Neither the museum, the institution nor the White House immediately responded to a request for comment.
