Smithsonian leader Lonnie Bunch to retire as Trump targets institution

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III announced Tuesday he will be stepping down from his role amid Trump administration disputes with the museum complex over how it presents American history.

Bunch, 73, is the Smithsonian Institution’s first Black leader and founder of its National Museum of African American History and Culture. He’s served as the world’s largest museum complex’s top official for more than seven years.

The secretary plans to leave his post by the end of the year, according to a Tuesday afternoon statement from the Smithsonian.

“It is with very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude that I announce my retirement from the Smithsonian,” Bunch said in the statement. “I leave with pride and sadness, gratitude and joy, and with enormous confidence in the people who will carry this remarkable institution forward.”

News of Bunch’s retirement comes less than a week after the Trump administration threatened to cut the Smithsonian’s funding and end its partnerships with federal agencies over accusations that the museum complex’s leaders are pushing a “culture of ideological activism” through its exhibits.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Trump adviser Vince Haley included these threats in an Aug. 28 letter to Smithsonian leaders — citing a July White House report identifying what they described as “alarming examples” of “radical ideology” across museum programming.

“Those executive departments and agencies cannot in good conscience continue to support the Smithsonian under current leadership by, for example, loaning artifacts for exhibits, enabling procurement processes and making discretionary grants,” the letter reads.

Bunch told The Washington Post on Tuesday that the administration’s pressure did not influence his decision to step down, adding that he had been considering retirement for roughly a year to spend more time with family.

He further emphasized to the Post that he was still passionate about protecting the Smithsonian’s freedom and autonomy.

“We’re at a time when people are challenging that independence,” he said. “I feel very strongly that it is as independent as we were before, and that I will continue to fight — for as long as I’m in this chair — for the independence of the Smithsonian.”

According to the outlet, he informed the executive committee of the board of regents about his decision to retire last week and planned to stay long enough to ensure “a peaceful transition of power.”