Head of Smithsonian museums announces he will be stepping down

The head of the Smithsonian Institution will be stepping down from his position by the end of the year, following pressure from the administration of United States President Donald Trump.

In a statement on Tuesday, Lonnie Bunch announced he was leaving the institution, an organisation that oversees one of the world’s largest collections of museums and educational and research centres.

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“I leave with pride and sadness, gratitude and joy, and with enormous confidence in the people who will carry this remarkable institution forward,” Bunch said.

“It is time for my next chapter, a chapter that will allow me to continue to protect the integrity of the Smithsonian and to champion the importance of a history that illuminates and celebrates the complex story of our nation.”

Many of the Smithsonian’s museums occupy a place of pride on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

But since the start of Trump’s second term as US president, the institution has come under increasing fire from conservatives who object to its depictions of racism, colonialism and other aspects of US history.

While the Smithsonian does not fall under the president’s direct authority, a large part of its budget comes from the federal government, and the Trump administration has threatened to sever that funding stream over the institution’s alleged “anti-American ideology”.

In July, Trump had ordered the US Department of the Interior to erect “warning signs” near the entrance to the National Museum of American History to inform visitors about the museum’s alleged bias.

In August, the Interior Department also sent a letter to the Smithsonian detailing its criticism if the institution did not address its concerns by changing its top leadership.

“Because these concerns arise from executive leadership and institutional ideology at the Smithsonian, the appropriate response must likewise address executive leadership and institutional ideology,” the letter said.

‘American exceptionalism’

The Smithsonian museums are free for the public to visit, and they draw millions of people each year.

They include the National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of American History, National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of Natural History and National Portrait Gallery.

Bunch was appointed as the secretary of the Smithsonian in 2019, becoming the first African American to serve at the helm of the 180-year-old institution.

He previously served as director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016 after a years-long effort.

But the Trump administration has sought to crack down on institutions it accuses of promoting left-wing “woke” ideology and movements like diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), a social justice initiative to encourage the participation of marginalised groups.

As part of that effort, Trump has sought to exert greater control over programming at cultural institutions like the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, one of the US capital’s most prominent theatre venues.

He has also ordered probes of other entities, from schools and universities to the military and national parks, in an effort to rid federally supported institutions of what he called “discriminatory” DEI practices.

The Smithsonian, however, was an early target of the Trump administration’s anti-DEI campaign.

Within months of taking office in 2025, Trump issued an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History”, which called for changes to ensure the Smithsonian returned to its “rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness”.

The White House, at the time, accused the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum and National Museum of African American History and Culture of promoting narratives that portrayed US values as harmful and oppressive.

In May 2025, Trump also said he had fired Kim Sajet, the director of the National Portrait Gallery, a Smithsonian museum, after he accused her of being a “highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position”.

Critics, however, argued that Trump did not have the authority to fire Sajet, who resigned under pressure in June of that year.

Further controversies erupted when the Smithsonian removed references to Trump’s two first-term impeachments from exhibits, before reversing course amid public outcry.

Soon after, in August 2025, the White House wrote to Bunch’s office saying it would conduct a review of the museum’s content, including its exhibits and social media content, to ensure the narratives shared would “celebrate American exceptionalism”.

Bunch has remained under pressure since that time, facing the prospect of balancing the institution’s funding requirements with the need to shield itself from political interference.

In the wake of his resignation on Tuesday, historians and artists like director Ken Burns voiced their support for the outgoing Smithsonian head.

“Lonnie Bunch is a great historian, public servant and a dear friend,” Burns wrote on social media.

“He has devoted his career to helping us understand the full American story in all its complexity. Our country is better for his work, and I am deeply grateful for it.”