Last week, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform questioned National Museum of American History (NMAH) Director Anthea Hartig during a congressional hearing centered on allegations in the White House’s 162-page July report, which accused the Smithsonian Institution (SI) of advancing “extreme political activism.” As expected, the session quickly unraveled, with Republican committee members delivering a stream of increasingly accusatory and outlandish remarks before Hartig could answer most of the questions.
The Trump administration’s scrutiny of the Smithsonian has intensified from complaints about its “woke” framing to threats to withhold most of the institution’s funding unless it turned over didactics, staff information, and proposed programming from every museum and research center for review. In a similar vein to Hartig’s repeated mention in the 162-page report, President Trump previously targeted former National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet, saying he had fired her in 2025 because she focused on diversifying programming and collection acquisitions.
Hartig, who has served as NMAH director since 2019 and is the museum’s first woman to hold the role, was asked questions including the following: “Are you sexualizing children?” “Do you believe men can become women?” “What is a woman?” “When was your gender revealed to you?” “Do you think it’s the goal of the SI to promote White supremacy culture?” and “Is Mickey Mouse racist?”
Other questions included: “Is it important to be polite?” “What is ‘Latina power?’” “Do you think that it’s appropriate for the SI to sell Latina power paraphernalia?” and “What about the tens of millions of aborted babies killed in America — where is the justice and compassion for them?” The hearing’s tone reflected the escalating hostility surrounding the Smithsonian, even as Hartig was repeatedly pressed on issues far beyond the scope of museum administration.
