WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House Domestic Policy Council released a report on July 4, 2026, criticizing the National Museum of American History and accusing its leadership of being radical activists who cannot be trusted. Anthea M. Hartig, the director of the museum, testified before the House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency on July 21, 2026, to defend her leadership against these allegations.

The 162-page White House report stated that the museum purposely presents America as a problematic country irredeemably conceived, founded by deeply flawed men, and still operating today as an instrument of systemic racism and oppression. The document further accused the museum of trying to indoctrinate teachers and students through its exhibitions, programming and teaching resources, and of engaging in anti-white, illegal alien and transgender activism.

Hartig released a two-page statement to the House subcommittee before the hearing, asserting that the institution remains committed to neutrality. The Smithsonian is a nonpartisan institution we're very proud of, Hartig said. She defended the museum's approach to historical interpretation, stating that examining difficult periods does not equate to animosity. Examining the harder chapters of our history is not the same as hostility, she said.

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Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who chairs the subcommittee, led the questioning during the hearing. He displayed photos of exhibits behind him on a posterboard and argued that the museum's current perspective distorts historical facts. In the museum’s current telling, history is just an ongoing power struggle between oppressors and the oppressed, Burchett said. He further stated that the museum's current telling defines the country above all by white supremacy, slavery, conquest, exclusion, hierarchy, racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and systemic injustice.

He expressed concern that ideological shifts had permeated the institution's operations. I feel like [the Smithsonian]'s become infected by a woke ideology that seeped into public displays, educational materials and planning documents, he said. He concluded his assessment by stating that the institution had lost its way. The museum has strayed, I believe, from the original purpose for which it exists and receives federal taxpayer support, Burchett said.

During the exchange, he stated that a six-year-old girl asks why she doesn’t have male genitalia in one of the exhibits. He also asked Hartig if she believed content involving bondage and transgender individuals was appropriate for children. Additionally, he asked Hartig why she should continue in her job, to which she responded that overseeing the museum is the honor of my career. Hartig also addressed the concept of historical reframing.

When historians talk about reframing a traditional narrative, we don’t mean erasing it. We mean adding the evidence, the voices, the objects, that earlier tellings left out, so that more Americans can see themselves reflected in the national story, she said.

Other members of the subcommittee raised issues regarding gender and race in the museum's displays. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., directed a pointed question at the director: When was your gender revealed to you, Dr. Hartig? Mace also told Hartig, You sexualized the American history museum. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., questioned the director's intentions regarding racial narratives. You intend to use a taxpayer-funded national museum to push a racial narrative that divides Americans by their skin color and guilt? Boebert asked.

Democratic members of the committee pushed back against the hearing's premise. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., called the hearing a political witch hunt. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, offered a sharper critique of the proceedings. Welcome to the Republicans’ white pride rally disguised as a congressional hearing, Crockett said. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., voiced support for other Smithsonian institutions, stating that Democrats will not allow the National Museum of African American History and Culture to be destroyed.

The hearing occurred against a backdrop of federal funding debates and prior administrative actions. President Donald Trump issued an executive order last year directing Vice President JD Vance and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to work with Congress to ensure Smithsonian appropriations prohibit spending on exhibits that degrade shared American values or divide Americans based on race. Trump requested a 12 percent cut to the Smithsonian's federal funding in the last cycle, but Congress maintained Smithsonian federal funding at just over $1 billion for fiscal 2026, without policy riders driven by President Trump’s vision. The Smithsonian receives approximately two-thirds of its support from federal funding, with the remainder from private funding and donations.

Two new museums honoring women and Latinos have been authorized by Congress but are waiting on legislation for construction on the National Mall. The White House report stated that the museum has not created any exhibit dedicated to presenting a general narrative of American history or telling the story of the Founding Fathers, the Second Continental Congress, the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolutionary War, or the achievement of independence.

Despite these criticisms, the museum recently opened an exhibit in May 2026 titled In Pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. The exhibit displays 250 objects, including the desk Thomas Jefferson used to draft the Declaration of Independence, a Revolutionary War-era gunboat, and the Star Spangled Banner. Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, stated that references to the Declaration of Independence were hard to find during a recent visit to the museum.

Hartig, who has served as director since 2019, is the first woman to serve in that role. The Smithsonian Board of Regents issued a statement last year saying that all personnel decisions are made by and subject to the direction of Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, with oversight by the Board. Lonnie G. Bunch III is the secretary.

Vice President JD Vance and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts are members of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, and six members of Congress sit on the board. The Smithsonian has 21 museums, 14 education and research centers, and the National Zoo. House Democrats issued a 16-page rebuttal to the White House report, accusing the Trump administration of trying to undermine the trustworthiness of museums. A second Smithsonian hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at the House Administration Committee.