White House officials threatened to withhold Smithsonian funds unless it complied with content review by January 13

On December 18, 2025, White House Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought sent a letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III warning that federal funds appropriated for the Smithsonian are "only available for use in a manner consistent" with Executive Order 14253, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," and with an earlier August 12, 2025 letter that had given the Smithsonian 75 days to submit materials and 120 days to begin implementing content changes. The December letter said materials the Smithsonian submitted the previous September "fell far short of what was requested, and the overwhelming majority of requested items remain outstanding," and demanded current exhibition descriptions, comprehensive America250 programming files, draft plans for upcoming shows, and internal curatorial guidelines, with compliance due by January 13, 2026.

The letter urged the Smithsonian to align itself with the administration's effort to remove what it called "anti-American propaganda," stating that "the American people will have no patience for any museum that is diffident about America's founding." The demand followed months of escalating pressure under EO 14253, under which the administration had already directed content changes across Smithsonian museums and installed warning signage at the National Museum of American History.

Updates

2026-01-13 — Smithsonian submitted additional records ahead of the deadline [3]

A Smithsonian official confirmed to ABC News that the institution submitted additional records in connection with the White House-demanded review, and that Secretary Bunch told staff in an email the Smithsonian would continue turning over records to the White House on a rolling basis. It was not publicly disclosed which materials were submitted or whether any requested items remained outstanding.