The White House is reviewing one of America’s leading museum organisations to ensure its “alignment” with Donald Trump’s “directive to celebrate American exceptionalism [and] remove divisive or partisan narratives”.

The review was revealed in a letter three senior Trump aides sent to Smithsonian Institution secretary Lonnie Bunch this week.

The institution runs America’s major public museums.

White House senior associate staff secretary Lindsey Halligan told Bunch the review was “about preserving trust in one of our most cherished institutions”.

It comes less than a month after the Smithsonian removed references to the US President’s two impeachments from an exhibit. It denied it did so under pressure from the White House.

A label referring to Trump’s impeachments was added in 2021 to the National Museum for American History’s exhibit on the American presidency, in a section called “Limits of presidential power”.

The section includes materials on the impeachment of presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson, and the Watergate scandal that helped lead to President Richard Nixon’s resignation.

“The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a 25-year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum’s standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation,” the Smithsonian said.

“It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard.”

Trump is the only US president to have been impeached twice – in 2019, for pushing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden; and in 2021 for “incitement of insurrection”, involving the January 6 siege of the US Capitol by Trump supporters.

This week’s review follows Trump signing an executive order in March accusing the Smithsonian of being influenced in “recent years” by “a divisive, race-centred ideology”.

“This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive,” the order said.

On Tuesday, the Smithsonian said its work was “grounded in a deep commitment to scholarly excellence, rigorous research, and the accurate, factual presentation of history”.

“We are reviewing the letter with this commitment in mind and will continue to collaborate constructively with the White House, Congress, and our governing board of regents,” it said.

The first phase of the review covers eight key Washington, DC Smithsonian museums: The National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

They have been told to replace exhibits that include “divisive or ideologically driven” material with “unifying, historically accurate” content. The review also requires:

• A full catalog of current and ongoing exhibitions and budgets;
• A list of travelling exhibitions and plans for the next three years;
• All internal guidelines, including staff manuals, job descriptions, and organisational charts, along with internal communications about exhibition artwork selection and approval;
• “On-site observational visits” and walkthroughs;
• “Voluntary interviews with curators and senior staff” by Trump officials.

More American museums are expected to face similar scrutiny in a second phase.

Part of the White House review’s focus is exhibits expected to feature as part of next year’s 250th anniversary celebration of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence.

CNN said the Smithsonian began its own review in June, and has repeatedly stressed its commitment to being nonpartisan.

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum complex. It has 21 museums and the US National Zoo, and had nearly 17 million visitors in 2024.