WASHINGTON (AP) — Lonnie Bunch is stepping down from the leadership of the Smithsonian Institution following a tumultuous year in which President Donald Trump tried to remake the portrayal of U.S. history by the Smithsonian museums and other cultural entities.
Bunch said in a news release Tuesday that he was departing the position he had held since 2019 “with very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude.” The Smithsonian said he would leave the post at the end of the year.
Bunch’s departure comes two months after a White House report branded the leaders of the Smithsonian Institution, especially at the National Museum of American History, as radical activists who cannot be trusted, an indication that Trump could be preparing to install his own team.
Anthea M. Hartig, the first female director of that museum, faced growing scrutiny from Trump and other Republicans over the summer after the White House Domestic Policy Council’s report saying the museum’s leadership doesn’t tell history “in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic.”
Three weeks after the report’s release, Trump ordered his administration to install signs in front of the U.S. history museum telling visitors that some of the exhibits are inaccurate. Hartig pushed back, telling lawmakers during congressional hearings that the report “does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum.”
There had been speculation that firings were in the offing. Trump doesn’t have the power to fire leaders at the Smithsonian with the swiftness he’s managed at other top cultural institutions in Washington, most notably the Kennedy Center, where a board of his supporters named him chairman.
The Smithsonian operates outside the executive branch and museum directors report to Bunch, who is subject to oversight from a Board of Regents that includes Vice President JD Vance, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, a bipartisan group of lawmakers and so-called citizen regents.
Roberts, who serves as Smithsonian’s chancellor, said in a release that Bunch had “pursued excellence in the telling of our nation’s story.”
The White House did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Tony Johnson, membership director of the Heritage Foundation, said Bunch's retirement is just the first stop. “We will fight to ensure that the next Secretary of the Smithsonian will not treat the Institution as a culture-war battleground,” he said.
Bunch is scheduled to speak Sept. 25 at the National Museum of African American History and Culture at an event entitled: “Understanding America: 10 Years of Excellence.” A Smithsonian spokesman said Bunch would be at the event.
The Smithsonian has been under examination by the Trump administration since 2025 as it has focused on the images and messages presented to the public as the nation approached its 250th anniversary.
A March 2025 executive order, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, led to signs being changed at federal parks, exhibits being altered or in some cases removed, and military bases being renamed. Trump specifically cited the National Museum of African American History and Culture and argued that the Smithsonian as a whole was engaging in a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history.”
Several months later, the White House ordered a wide-ranging review of the Smithsonian museums and exhibitions before the country’s 250th birthday, with a goal of aligning the institution’s content with Trump’s interpretation of American history.
In a letter sent to Bunch at the time, the White House detailed the steps it expected the organization to take as part of the announced review. The examination covers all public-facing content, including social media, exhibition text and educational materials, to “assess tone, historical framing, and alignment with American ideals,” according to the letter.
That review initially focused on eight museums — the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
California Democrat Sen. Alex Padilla praised Bunch in a statement for not shying away from the nation's history. “In the face of Donald Trump’s attacks on the Smithsonian, Secretary Bunch spoke truth to power and reasserted his commitment to defend and uphold American history and values. While I respect his decision to depart, the job now falls to the Board of Regents and Congress to ensure the success of his work will remain for generations to come.”
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Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C., and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
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AP reporter Lisa Mascaro contributed to this story.
