Trump signed executive order directing warning signs placed outside National Museum of American History labeling exhibits inaccurate

On July 24, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order titled "Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution," directing federal officials to install temporary warning signs on National Park Service-maintained sidewalks and walkways outside the National Museum of American History on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The order tasked the Secretary of the Interior, the OMB Director, the GSA Administrator, and the Domestic Policy Assistant with implementing the directive. The signs were instructed to notify visitors that "the Museum exhibits should be renovated consistent with the findings" of a White House report and to direct them to "locations and resources for accurate information regarding America's history." The order additionally directed installation of exhibits or signage inside the museum that would "correct inaccurate information," citing the museum's alleged failure to "appropriately honor the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence."

The executive order referenced a 162-page White House Domestic Policy Council report titled "Saving America's Story," released July 4, 2026, which accused the National Museum of American History of treating "American history as a 'prime tool' to advance ideas of social justice and radical transformation." The report criticized the museum's exhibits, including its Civil War display, and accused Smithsonian leadership of being "radical activists who can't be trusted" to present American history honestly. The report recommended signage language reading: "Warning: the exhibits in this museum were prepared by people who don't want you to love your country." The Smithsonian Institution told CBS News it had no comment on the executive order.

The July 24 order is a distinct action in a sustained campaign against the Smithsonian that began with EO 14253, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," signed March 27, 2025, which directed the Vice President — through his statutory seat on the Smithsonian Board of Regents — to remove exhibits the administration characterized as promoting "divisive, race-centered ideology." That earlier EO had already prompted a July 21, 2026 House Oversight subcommittee hearing at which Republican members sharply questioned NMAH director Anthea Hartig. The July 24 order escalates the campaign by deploying physical government signage on public walkways to discredit the museum's scholarship before visitors cross the threshold.

Updates

2026-08-07 — Senators Murkowski and Merkley demanded implementation details [5]

Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), chair and ranking member of the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, sent a bipartisan letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum requesting the scope, cost, funding source, timeline, and drafting process for the signage directive, writing that "there is nothing more American than telling our story truthfully."