By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn

(CNN) — The Trump administration has suggested federal agencies may stop working with the Smithsonian Institution if its leadership does not change, ramping up a monthslong pressure campaign to align the world’s largest museum complex with its views.

In an August 28 letter to the Smithsonian’s governing body that was recently made public, administration officials said government agencies cannot “in good conscience” support the institution and may cease “loaning artifacts for exhibits, enabling procurement processes and making discretionary grants,” citing a White House report that claimed the institution was promoting “extreme political activism” at the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.

It’s a sign that the Trump administration is considering more aggressive measures to exert influence on content at the Smithsonian, which has tried to maintain its independence despite unprecedented scrutiny of its programming. President Donald Trump has tasked aides with rooting out “woke” ideology and what he considers a rewriting of American history at the museums.

“Because these concerns arise from executive leadership and institutional ideology at the Smithsonian, the appropriate response must likewise address executive leadership and institutional ideology,” wrote Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Vince Haley, the director of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council, in the letter.

They also wrote that the administration has “recently uncovered evidence” that the Smithsonian’s “institutional culture may have resulted in significant violations of Federal antidiscrimination law” without providing examples. CNN has reached out to the Smithsonian and the Interior Department for comment and more information.

While the 179-year-old institution is a unique public-private trust and does not consider itself an executive agency, the federal government supplies two-thirds of its budget. The government also frequently collaborates with the Smithsonian on museum initiatives and research projects.

In the letter, the officials asked the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents to meet with them in person to discuss the White House’s findings, which were released on July 4. The National Museum of American History’s Director, Andrea Hartig, said at a July congressional hearing that the report “does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum.”

“The museum does not take sides in America’s political debates. We preserve and document the evidence of American life in all of its breadth, so that the public can encounter the past and draw their own conclusions,” she said.

The letter comes weeks after Trump ordered the National Park Service to install temporary signage near the American history museum that warned of “inaccurate information” in the exhibits.

White House scrutiny of the Smithsonian dates back to March 2025, when Trump signed an executive order directing Vice President JD Vance to seek the appointment of public members to the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents who are aligned with his priorities for the institution. Months later, the White House launched an unprecedented, sweeping review of the Smithsonian, asking for extensive documents about its museum exhibitions and operations.

Members of the board include Chief Justice John Roberts, Republican and Democratic members of Congress, and members of the public who are mostly former business executives and nonprofit board members.

Two of nine public regents’ terms have expired and two other spots will open up by the beginning of October, according to a term chart on the Smithsonian website. This could give Trump a chance to try to expand his influence on the board before the November midterm elections shake up Congress. New board members are appointed via congressional joint resolutions that the president must sign into law.

CNN reported earlier this year that there is unanimity among the citizen members that the Smithsonian should remain independent and not be influenced by the administration.

Lonnie Bunch III, the institution’s head since 2019, told CNN in a May interview that the institution has maintained its autonomy as it complied with the White House’s request for information.

“My goal is that history is driven by scholarship, not partisanship,” he said. “The Smithsonian always does its own scholarship. It’s always driven by that. We have always worked with different administrations, but it’s always about what our scholarship tells us.”

CNN’s Renee Marsh, Aleena Fayaz and Michael Williams contributed to this report.

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