Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
Burgum and Haley tell the Smithsonian’s regents that agencies may stop lending artifacts and awarding grants unless its leadership changes
The August 28, 2026 letter, made public September 2, cites a White House report on the National Museum of American History; no loan, contract or grant was identified as cancelled.
What happened
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and White House Domestic Policy Council director Vince Haley told the Smithsonian Board of Regents that executive agencies “cannot in good conscience continue to support the Smithsonian under current leadership.” The letter is dated August 28, 2026 and was made public September 2. It names loaning artifacts for exhibits, enabling procurement processes and making discretionary grants.
The letter cites the council’s July 4 report on the National Museum of American History. Because the concerns “arise from executive leadership and institutional ideology,” they wrote, the response “must likewise address executive leadership and institutional ideology.” They alleged possible violations of federal antidiscrimination law without giving examples. They asked to meet the regents. No loan, contract or grant was identified as cancelled.
Who benefited
The White House gained a lever over the Smithsonian’s leadership without cancelling anything. The letter names three kinds of support agencies could withdraw: artifact loans, procurement and discretionary grants. It points the demand at “executive leadership and institutional ideology,” and asks to meet the regents.
Who wanted something
Burgum and Haley wanted a change in the Smithsonian’s leadership and a say in its “institutional ideology.” They based the demand on the Domestic Policy Council’s July 4 report on the National Museum of American History. The letter alleged possible violations of federal antidiscrimination law and did not cite an example.
Who lost out
The Smithsonian and its regents face the loss of artifact loans, procurement and discretionary grants from executive agencies. Nothing had been cancelled when the letter was reported. The leadership named in the letter is the target, and any loss would reach exhibits and the museums’ budgets.
Why it matters
The letter makes support for a museum conditional on who runs it and what it teaches. It came from the Interior secretary and the head of the Domestic Policy Council, to the board that governs the Smithsonian. No loan, contract or grant has been cancelled yet.
Sources U.S. Department of the Interior (primary)CNNThe Washington PostABC News