Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III announces retirement

Lonnie G. Bunch III, the first African American and first historian to serve as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, has announced he will retire by the end of the year. Bunch, who has led the institution for seven years and spent nearly 38 years at the Smithsonian, stated his decision was his own, though the announcement follows an 18-month campaign by the Trump administration regarding how the museum system presents Black history.

The retirement occurs amidst significant political pressure. Federal agencies, including the Interior Department, recently warned the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents that they could not “in good conscience continue to support” the institution under its current leadership. This follows a White House executive order aimed at “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which resulted in a 162-page report criticizing the institution for what the administration termed “radical left propaganda.”

U.S. Representative Barry Moore expressed support for the administration’s efforts to reform the museum, arguing that taxpayer-funded institutions should provide an “all-American experience” rather than what he described as a left-wing agenda. Since March 2025, the administration has implemented content reviews and threatened federal funding to influence the presentation of American history within the museum system.