Trump cuts Biden-era Smithsonian budget below $1B for first time since 2020 amid 'woke' crackdown
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump's effort to reshape the Smithsonian Institution has expanded beyond its exhibits and leadership to its budget, with the administration proposing the museum system's smallest federal funding request in years.
The proposed reduction would bring the Smithsonian's annual federal budget request below $1 billion for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, marking the first time the institution has sought less than that amount since fiscal year 2020.
The proposal comes as the White House continues its campaign to eliminate what it describes as "woke" ideology from federally funded museums and cultural institutions.
Trump proposes Smithsonian budget below $1 billion
The Smithsonian's annual budget requests increased throughout the Biden administration, rising from $1.11 billion in fiscal year 2021 to a record $1.24 billion in fiscal year 2024. The fiscal year 2025 request also exceeded $1 billion.
The Trump administration's proposed budgets for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, however, reduce that request below the $1 billion mark for the first time in six years.
The Smithsonian receives more than $1 billion annually in federal funding, in addition to private donations and trust revenue. It oversees 21 museums, the National Zoo, and approximately 157 million artifacts and specimens, with free admission attracting millions of visitors each year.
Whether Congress adopts the administration's proposed funding levels remains uncertain, but the budget request signals the White House's intent to use federal funding as part of its broader effort to reshape the institution.
Trump targets Smithsonian exhibits and programs
The funding proposal follows more than a year of White House scrutiny of the Smithsonian's exhibits, educational programming, leadership, and internal records.
According to the administration, officials reviewed museum displays, interviewed curators, requested documents, and conducted on-site walkthroughs before releasing a 162-page report recommending broad reforms.
The White House has argued that some Smithsonian exhibits promote ideological narratives that conflict with its mission and has directed the institution to present what it describes as a more accurate portrayal of American history.
In March, Trump signed an executive order instructing the Smithsonian to eliminate what it called "improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology."
The latest move also comes days after Trump ordered warning signs to be placed outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, directing visitors to information the administration describes as a more accurate account of the nation's history.
The order followed congressional hearings in which Republican lawmakers criticized the museum for what they characterized as "woke" ideology in exhibits and educational materials.
Democrats have sharply criticized the administration's actions.
Rep Melanie Stansbury, the ranking Democrat on the House Administration Committee, called the executive order "a clear political overreach" and argued that the Smithsonian "does not belong to the president, but to the American people."
