The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, has removed a label referring to US President Donald Trump’s two impeachments during his previous term. The temporary label had been added in 2021 to a long-term exhibition titled The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden, and specifically a section about limits on presidential power. The label’s removal came amid a review of the museum’s content, a museum spokesperson told the Washington Post and The New York Times.
“In reviewing our legacy content recently, it became clear that the ‘Limits of Presidential Power’ section in The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibition needed to be addressed,” a Smithsonian spokesperson said in a statement provided to The Art Newspaper. “The section of this exhibition covers Congress, the Supreme Court, impeachment and public opinion. Because the other topics in this section had not been updated since 2008, the decision was made to restore the impeachment case back to its 2008 appearance.”
The exhibition The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden was first unveiled in 2000 but had not been meaningfully updated since 2008. In 2021, a label discussing the impeachments of presidents Trump, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, and the possible impeachment of Richard Nixon that led to his resignation was added. Trump is the only US president to be impeached twice. Both impeachments, in 2019 and 2021, resulted in acquittals following trials in the Senate.
“In September 2021, the museum installed a temporary label on content concerning the impeachments of Donald J. Trump,” the Smithsonian spokesperson added. “It was intended to be a short-term measure to address current events at the time, however, the label remained in place until July 2025. A large permanent gallery like The American Presidency that opened in 2000, requires a significant amount of time and funding to update and renew. A future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments.” No timeline was provided for the updated display.
The Smithsonian has come under Trump’s scrutiny since he returned to office in January. In March he signed an executive order stating that federally funded institutions should prioritise “uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing”. The Smithsonian receives around two thirds of its annual operating budget of more than $1bn from funding appropriated by Congress; the remaining third comes from a range of sources including its endowment, private philanthropy and earned revenue.
The order directed vice-president JD Vance to lead a purge of “divisive, race-centered ideology” from all Smithsonian institutions and withhold funding from any exhibitions or works that “degrade shared American values”. The executive order singled out exhibitions and displays at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum for apparently running afoul of the Trump administration’s priorities.
In a subsequent memo to Smithsonian staff, the institution’s secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III wrote that its work will continue to “be shaped by the best scholarship, free of partisanship, to help the American public better understand our nation’s history, challenges and triumphs”.
In May, Trump targeted the leader of one of the Smithsonian’s 21 museums, the National Portrait Gallery, claiming in a social media post that he had fired its director Kim Sajet. Though Sajet initially remained in her role—the Smithsonian is governed by a board of regents, not the president—she eventually resigned.
