The director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is set to face congressional questioning this week after the White House released a report accusing the museum's leadership of extreme political activism and distorting the nation's history.
Anthea Hartig is scheduled to testify Tuesday morning before a House Subcommittee on Delivering Government Efficiency at a hearing titled "Rewriting American History: Examining the Smithsonian's Efforts to Reshape the Past," according to ABC News. She is also expected to appear Wednesday before the Committee on House Administration.
The hearings follow a report released by the White House Domestic Policy Council on July 4 that named Hartig and accused the museum of engaging in "extreme political activism" and presenting "a radical view of American history." The report also accused the museum of "anti-White activism," "illegal alien activism," and "transgender activism," and included photographs of materials the White House identified as problematic.
When asked about the report shortly after its release, a Smithsonian spokesperson pushed back. "For more than 180 years, the Smithsonian has served the American public with nonpartisan and independent scholarship, and we remain committed to doing so," the spokesperson said.
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, who has not addressed the report publicly, disputed its findings in an internal letter to staff that was obtained by ABC News. Bunch wrote that leadership is carefully reviewing the report's findings but said the assessment is "not a fair characterization." "While there will always be room for improvement, this report is not a fair characterization of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History," Bunch said in the letter.
Hartig's testimony would mark the first time a senior Smithsonian leader has been publicly questioned by Congress since President Donald Trump issued an executive order on March 27, 2025, titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History." That order directed Vice President J.D. Vance, in consultation with domestic policy advisers, "to remove improper ideology" from Smithsonian institutions. It argued that materials casting America in a "negative light" have no place in federal cultural institutions.
The White House launched its investigation into the Smithsonian last year. The institution oversees 21 museums, galleries and the national zoo. The July 4 report focused specifically on the American history museum as part of that investigation.
