WASHINGTON, September 10 — Lonnie Bunch is stepping down from the leadership of the Smithsonian Institution, the Associated Press reported, closing out a tenure that began in 2019 and ending a year in which President Donald Trump moved to remake how the Smithsonian museums portray American history. Bunch announced his departure in a news release on Tuesday, Sept. 8, saying he was leaving “with very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude.” The Smithsonian said he would leave the post at the end of the year.
The exit lands 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. That report, from the White House Domestic Policy Council, said the museum’s leadership does not tell history “in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic.”
A museum director under scrutiny
Anthea M. Hartig, the first female director of the National Museum of American History, faced growing scrutiny from Trump and other Republicans over the summer in the wake of that report. Three weeks after its 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 does not have the power to fire leaders at the Smithsonian with the swiftness he has 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.
The pressure campaign behind the departure
The Smithsonian has been under examination by the Trump administration since 2025 as it 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. 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.
What comes next turns on the Board of Regents. The White House report’s characterization of Smithsonian leadership as untrustworthy signaled that Trump could be preparing to install his own team, but the institution’s structure — outside the executive branch, with a board that includes Vance, Roberts, lawmakers from both parties and citizen regents — means any successor will be chosen through a process the president does not control outright.
Watch whether the administration’s review of Smithsonian content continues past Bunch’s departure at year’s end, and who the regents move to put in his place.
