{"id":1468,"date":"2026-07-21T18:41:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T18:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1468"},"modified":"2026-07-21T18:41:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T18:41:17","slug":"smithsonian-director-defends-u-s-history-museum-against-republican-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1468","title":{"rendered":"Smithsonian Director Defends U.S. History Museum Against Republican Attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cHistory is incredibly challenging,\u201d the director of the Smithsonian Institution\u2019s National Museum of American History testified in the House, rebutting the Republican-led effort to reshape what the nation\u2019s government-sponsored museums say about America.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1466\">Biden Loses His Appeal to Halt Release of Memoir Recordings<\/a><\/p><p>For two hours Tuesday, Anthea Hartig faced a hostile panel of Republican lawmakers who cast the Smithsonian Institution as an \u201cideological\u201d political organization and aired what they saw as perceived slights against the founding fathers, cultural icons and conservative ideas contained in the museum\u2019s galleries.<\/p>\n<p>Hartig pushed back, saying the museum \u201ctries to reflect the richness of our history\u201d without advancing any political agenda.<\/p><p>\u201cIf we tell it in its richness, we absolutely, I think, have objects that can make people uncomfortable,\u201d Hartig said.<\/p>\n<section>\n<div>\n<h2>\n<span>Trending<\/span>\n<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sen. John Fetterman\" class=\"wp-image-1437\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5a9f6c7d86c9c6b270b520b2be8e629f-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5a9f6c7d86c9c6b270b520b2be8e629f-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5a9f6c7d86c9c6b270b520b2be8e629f-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5a9f6c7d86c9c6b270b520b2be8e629f.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      Fetterman\u2019s Ultimatum Is Giving Some Democrats Anxiety He\u2019ll Switch Parties\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"260721-flag-capitol-ak-ap-25164774123431\" class=\"wp-image-1465\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f272dd51dbcb22b3440044b5ddc52c7-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f272dd51dbcb22b3440044b5ddc52c7-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f272dd51dbcb22b3440044b5ddc52c7-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f272dd51dbcb22b3440044b5ddc52c7.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      U.S. Soldier Killed in Iraq Identified as North Carolina Father of Two\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Andy Kim\" class=\"wp-image-1438\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/404db50bc3ebf37bf5153e16730ddec1-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/404db50bc3ebf37bf5153e16730ddec1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/404db50bc3ebf37bf5153e16730ddec1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/404db50bc3ebf37bf5153e16730ddec1.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      Andy Kim\u2019s Big Health Care Pitch: Enroll Every Kid in Medicaid\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Voters depart a polling place in Kennesaw, GA.\" class=\"wp-image-1446\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e1814b8fd9875795879aa6ab01c7789e-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e1814b8fd9875795879aa6ab01c7789e-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e1814b8fd9875795879aa6ab01c7789e-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e1814b8fd9875795879aa6ab01c7789e.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      Democrats Ditch Their Old Pick in a Competitive Arizona Seat\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>She continued, \u201cIt\u2019s not for me to determine what\u2019s problematic, it\u2019s for me to determine what\u2019s accurate.\u201d<\/p><p>Republicans during the hearing largely focused on specific exhibits and merchandise within the museum they found controversial, including a display centered on the U.S. entertainment industry and another on girls going through puberty. They grew increasingly frustrated throughout the hearing after accusing Hartig of deflecting from their most pointed questions.<\/p><p>\u201cYou have pictures of bondage,\u201d Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tennessee), who chaired Tuesday\u2019s Delivering on Government Efficiency subcommittee hearing, said before a poster board displaying some items and photographs featured in the museum. \u201cYou have some overtly sexual things up there. You have transgender folks, I assume that\u2019s what they are.\u201d<\/p><p>Rep. Nancy Mace, (R-South Carolina), focused her questions more explicitly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy staff tells me this little trinket around the penis, this is BDSM in a setting where children are walking through,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s disgusting. Like, what kind of message are you trying to send to kids with BDSM imagery?\u201d<\/p><p>Hartig said the puberty exhibit was not designed for children and contained a warning about its contents.<\/p><p>After the hearing, Burchett told NOTUS that Congress should withhold funds from the Smithsonian but speculated leadership is not \u201cgoing to do a dadgum thing.\u201d He added he would talk to the Smithsonian Board of Regents, composed of Vice President JD Vance, lawmakers from both parties and others, to voice his concerns.<\/p><p>Shortly after taking office last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at \u201crestoring truth and sanity to American history\u201d that prohibited Smithsonian exhibits that \u201cdivide Americans based on race.\u201d In subsequent letters to the institution, the White House requested all descriptions and plans for current and upcoming exhibits to ensure compliance with new policies.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1462\">U.S. Soldier Killed in Iraq Identified as North Carolina Father of Two<\/a><\/p><p>While the agency is only partially government funded, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought noted he could withhold funds if the Smithsonian did not comply with Trump\u2019s order and document production requests.<\/p><p>On July 4, the White House issued a  finding the American history museum strayed from its mission and has become a \u201cpolitical instrument to divide, dispirit, and discourage our citizens.\u201d It accused the museum of demonstrating activism toward \u201cillegal aliens,\u201d transgender individuals and against white Americans.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration has also directed the National Park Service to <span><u>remove signage<\/u><\/span> and displays it deemed as promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, though those efforts have been held up in ongoing legal disputes.<\/p><p>Hartig, who is set to testify again on Wednesday before the House Administration Committee, rejected the White House\u2019s findings, arguing they contained several inaccuracies. She said she takes the White House\u2019s concerns seriously, but noted the report erroneously suggested that several pieces of U.S. history were not on display, including passages from the Declaration of Independence, a uniform and writing desk belonging to George Washington and celebrations of the country\u2019s 250th anniversary.<\/p><p>\u201cWe unwaveringly attest that it does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum,\u201d Hartig said. \u201cThere is always room for improvement, but I also know the beauty and the inspiration and the expertise that lies in our collections, our exhibits and our programming.\u201d<\/p><p>David Blight, a history professor at Yale University who also testified at the hearing, similarly castigated the White House for its report.<\/p><p>\u201cThe recent report by the White House Domestic Policy Council is nothing less than a declaration of political war on the historian\u2019s profession, as well as on the freedom and curiosity of anyone who reads,\u201d Blight said. \u201cIn other words, President Trump has declared war on free minds and free education.\u201d<\/p><p>Republicans, meanwhile, repeatedly criticized the museum for its exhibits on slavery, saying it should focus on efforts to abolish the practice rather than its horrors.<\/p><p>Democrats chided Republicans for holding the hearing, saying they were looking to erase key parts of U.S. history. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) called it a \u201cwhite pride rally disguised as a congressional hearing.\u201d Other Democrats questioned the majority\u2019s intentions.<\/p><p>\u201cI think what\u2019s actually happening is not that you don\u2019t want ideology in the museum,\u201d said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Virginia). \u201cYou want your ideology in the museum.\u201d<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1460\">Fetterman\u2019s Ultimatum Giving Some Democrats Anxiety He\u2019ll Switch Parties<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lawmakers say the museum should not focus on the negatives of American history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trump-white-house"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Smithsonian Director Defends U.S. History Museum Against Republican Attacks - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1468\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Smithsonian Director Defends U.S. History Museum Against Republican Attacks - 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