Lonnie Bunch, who has led the Smithsonian as its secretary for the past seven years, said that he will step down at the end of the year.
His departure comes amid repeated criticism from the Trump administration over how the institution depicts and describes historical events and figures.
In an interview with The New York Times, Bunch said that the pressure from the administration did not lead to his departure, but it “was really just saying, now’s the time.”
In a statement, Bunch said, “There is no place like the Smithsonian—it has been one of the great loves of my life, and I am extraordinarily proud of what we have accomplished together. I leave with pride and sadness, gratitude and joy, and with enormous confidence in the people who will carry this remarkable institution forward.”
The Smithsonian has enjoyed a long history of independence from the executive branch. It was created by Congress and is overseen by a Board of Regents chaired by Chief Justice John Roberts.
In a statement, Roberts said, “From his days as a young curator at the National Air and Space and American History Museums through his tenure as the founding director of the African American History and Culture Museum and culminating in his distinguished service for the past seven years in the Smithsonian’s top job, Secretary Bunch has pursued excellence in the telling of our nation’s story. The Regents, and the Smithsonian, have benefited greatly from his wisdom, vision and leadership.”
In July, the Trump administration released a report on the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History that claimed it was captured by “radical, activist ideology.” That included criticisms of its Entertainment Nation wing. A number of historians’ associations pushed back, with the Organization of American Historians calling the report “part of a broad attempt to return the nation to a vision of America that never actually existed and that serves the ends of superficial patriotism.” Many historians blasted the report as cherry picking instances in a complex that features a central display of the Star Spangled Banner, Abraham Lincoln’s top hat and a wing devoted to the United States’ industrial might.
Even though Congress appropriates funding for the Smithsonian, last month, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum threatened to withhold support from executive agencies and departments, claiming that the “radical ideology” had the effect of weakening “our shared American identity.”
Last year, Trump attempted to fire Kim Sajet, the director of the National Portrait Gallery, the Smithsonian asserted its independence, although she later resigned. Artist Amy Sherald withdrew a planned exhibition of her works, telling the Times that she had been informed that internal concerns were raised over a work, Trans Forming Liberty, that featured a trans woman standing in a similar pose to the Statue of Liberty.
