Smithsonian faces Tuesday deadline amid White House demand for review

(WASHINGTON) — The Smithsonian Institution is facing a deadline to submit additional materials to the White House related to a review demanded by the Trump administration of the institution’s exhibitions, programming and internal governance.

According to a Dec. 18, 2025, letter from the White House addressed to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III, the Smithsonian Institution’s previous submission last fall “fell far short of what was requested, and the overwhelming majority of requested items remain outstanding.”

It is unclear which materials were submitted in September and which materials “remain outstanding.”

ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment. The Smithsonian declined to comment about the deadline.

The request for materials comes after the White House said in a letter addressed to Bunch last August that it plans to conduct a wide-ranging review of the Smithsonian’s museum exhibitions, materials and operations to ensure they align with President Donald Trump’s view of American history.

In response to the White House’s demand, Bunch said the institution would be conducting the review internally, a Smithsonian official confirmed to ABC News.

Following the internal review, a Smithsonian official said Bunch will brief the White House on its findings, but a formal report will not be sent to the White House, the Smithsonian official added.

A White House official told ABC News in September that the Smithsonian “cannot credibly audit itself.”

“The Smithsonian is not an autonomous institution, as 70% of its funding comes from taxpayers. While we acknowledge the Smithsonian’s recognition of its own programmatic failures and is moving toward critical introspection, it cannot credibly audit itself,” White House official Lindsey Halligan said. “By definition, an ‘audit’ must be neutral and objective. The American taxpayers deserve nothing less, which is why the White House will ensure the audit is conducted impartially. This is non-negotiable.”

The president signed an executive order on March 27, placing Vice President JD Vance in charge of supervising efforts to “remove improper ideology” from all areas of the Smithsonian and targeted funding for programs that advance “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology.”

The order — called “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” — directed Vance and Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum to restore federal parks, monuments, memorials and statues “that have been improperly removed or changed in the last five years to perpetuate a false revision of history or improperly minimize or disparage certain historical figures or events.”

Bunch, who met with Trump at the White House on Aug. 28, referenced his conversations with Trump in a Sept. 3 letter to the institution’s employees, which was obtained by ABC News.

In the letter, Bunch told employees he underscored the independence of the Smithsonian, saying it was “paramount.” He also told employees that the institution remains committed to telling the “American story” and “will always be, a place that welcomes all Americans and the world.”

ABC News’ John Santucci, Hannah Demissie, Laura Romero and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.