Democrats serving on the House Administration Committee are pleading with Vice President J.D. Vance to save the Smithsonian Institution from President Donald Trump.
The lawmakers have accused the president of a “flagrant attempt to erase Black history.”
In a letter to Vance, the House Democrats reference Trump’s March 27 executive order “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” The order specifically targets the Smithsonian for review.
The order reads in part, “Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.”
The president’s order puts the vice president in the lead to ensure that race-based ideology is not promoted by the Smithsonian, along with recommending funding changes as needed to make sure that happens. The Smithsonian’s annual budget has topped $1 billion.
The lawmakers’ letter to Vance suggests Trump has something other than ideology behind his order: “The attempt to paper over elements of American history is both cowardly and unpatriotic.”
The Democrats believe the Smithsonian’s reputation alone is enough to push back against Trump’s order. “Unfortunately, we now stand at the brink of seeing the Smithsonian at its worst: shaped solely by the views and ideology of one individual as a means of expanding his political power,” they wrote.
There has been no public response from the vice president about the communication. None of the majority Republicans on the House Administration Committee signed the letter.
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