The government of President Donald Trump granted the lowest budget in years to the Smithsonian Institution, while pushing to eliminate "woke" ideology from museums and cultural programs funded with federal money.
Trump's request reduces the budget request for the institution below the threshold of 1 billion dollars for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 for the first time since 2020. In 2024, during the term of former President Joe Biden, the Smithsonian was funded by the state with a record amount of 1.24 billion.
The White House cut funding to this cultural complex for promoting ideological narratives contrary to its mission of teaching with historical accuracy. Since 2020, the institution has been advocating for racial reparations and, to make matters worse, in that same year it created an infographic criticizing "white culture".
The cultural battle has also reached museums
Trump's cultural chainsaw
Over the past 16 months, the government conducted a review of all educational and cultural programs that the Smithsonian funds and promotes. This review resulted in a comprehensive 162-page report in which the White House recommends implementing deep reforms through a series of executive actions aimed at applying these suggestions.
The Smithsonian, as the most important cultural complex in the United States, manages 21 museums, the National Zoo, and nearly 157 million objects and specimens. It receives over 1 billion dollars annually, in addition to being supported by private donations and other self-generated income.
The institution is, in summary, funded by taxpayer money, and has transformed in recent years into a state cultural center that seeks to impose the reconstruction of the American collective memory. Trump has already submitted the request for the new budget levels. It remains to be seen if Congress approves this reduction.
The Smithsonian promotes racial reparations and criticizes "white culture"
