Ten days after the US President Donald Trump claimed on social media that he had fired the director of Washington’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG), Kim Sajet, the Smithsonian Institution has issued a statement gently pushing back against his accusations. The Smithsonian, which oversees the NPG alongside 20 other museums, asserted its status as “a nonpartisan institution” that strives to be ”a beacon of scholarship free from political or partisan influence”.
The statement, which does not mention Trump, Sajet or the NPG, goes on to obliquely rebuke the president’s claims, clarifying that he does not have the authority to fire Smithsonian employees. It reads in part: ”All personnel decisions are made by and subject to the direction of the Secretary, with oversight by the Board.”
The statement also notes: “To reinforce our nonpartisan stature, the Board of Regents has directed the Secretary to articulate specific expectations to museum directors and staff regarding content in Smithsonian museums, give directors reasonable time to make any needed changes to ensure unbiased content, and to report back to the Board on progress and any needed personnel changes based on success or lack thereof in making the needed changes.”
In a subsequent statement to The New York Times, a Smithsonian spokesperson added: “This is an interim measure and does not rule out potential personnel actions.”
When—and why—did Trump try to fire Sajet?
In his 30 May post, the president had claimed of Sajet: “She is a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of [diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives], which is totally inappropriate for her position.”
When the Washington Post last week reported that Sajet had continued to serve in her role following Trump’s claims, the White House provided a 17-point list of grievances against the NPG director. These include a wall text accompanying a portrait of Trump that mentions the “incitement of insurrection” during the events of 6 January 2021, and that Trump was impeached twice during his first term. The White House’s document points out that the president was “acquitted by the Senate in both trials”.
The Smithsonian Secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch, has been navigating scrutiny and repeated public criticisms from Trump since the start of his second term. In late January, in response to an executive order signed by Trump on the day he was inaugurated, directing federal agencies and federally funded institutions to stop their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, the Smithsonian ended its diversity efforts.
Another executive order, signed in late March, directed Vice President JD Vance, in his role as a member of the Smithsonian’s 17-person board of regents, to oversee the removal of what it termed “divisive, race-centered ideology” from all of the Smithsonian’s properties. The order also instructed Vance to deny funding to any exhibitions or works that “degrade shared American values”.
How is the Smithsonian funded?
Currently, around two thirds of the Smithsonian’s $1bn in annual funding comes from the federal government. In his proposed federal budget for 2026, Trump has suggested cutting the Smithsonian’s federal funding by around 12%. According to The New York Times, in a conference call with the NPG’s board of commissioners on 3 June, Sajet discussed the possible effects of a 12% funding cut and framed Trump’s attempts to fire her as “just a piece” of his administration’s efforts to seize control of the Smithsonian.
Sajet, a citizen of the Netherlands, was born in Nigeria and grew up in Australia. Prior to her appointment to lead the NPG in 2013, she served as the president and chief executive of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for around six years. Her previous roles included seven years as the senior vice president and the deputy director of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and three years as the director of corporate relations at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
In a joint statement following Trump’s attempted firing of Sajet, the Democratic lawmakers Joe Morelle—the leading member on the House Administration Committee—and Rosa DeLauro—the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee—described the president’s action as illegal.
“President Trump has no authority to fire employees of the Smithsonian Institution—including the director of the National Portrait Gallery,” Morelle and DeLauro stated. “The dismissal of director Sajet is unacceptable and has the same legal weight as the President’s prior attempts to undermine the Smithsonian’s independence: absolutely none. Should the White House require a copy of the Constitution, we would be more than happy to provide one.”
