Executive Order 14253
| Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History | |
Front page of Executive Order 14253 | |
| Type | Executive order |
|---|---|
| Number | 14245 |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Signed | March 31, 2025 |
| Federal Register details | |
| Federal Register document number | 2025-05838 |
| Publication date | April 3, 2025 |
| Summary | |
| |
Executive Order 14253, titled Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, is an executive order signed by Donald Trump on March 31, 2025.
It seeks to shape how the Smithsonian Institution and its properties cover American values, calls to restore it to "its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness" and "remove improper ideology from such properties".
The order also orders the Department of Interior to determine whether, since January 1, 2020, if any monuments, memorials, statues and markers, within the department's jurisdiction contain any descriptions, depictions, or other content that "inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times)". Additionally it orders the department to reinstate any pre-existing monuments, memorials, statues and markers that have been removed or changed to "perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology."[1][2][3]
Provisions
Under the order the Vice President, the Secretary of the Interior, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget working with Congress, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Senior Associate Staff Secretary Lindsey Halligan, through his role as a member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, are ordered to carry out various actions to advance the policy in the order.
Most notably the order seeks to effect how the Smithsonian Institution and its properties cover American values and calls to restore it to "its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness."[4][2]
In regards to the Smithsonian it orders the Vice President, in consultation with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Associate Staff Secretary, Lindsey Halligan, through his role on the Smithsonian Board of Regents, to put into force the policies of the order, including "by seeking to remove improper ideology from" Smithsonian properties.
Additionally Vice President and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget are ordered to work with the Congress to ensure that future appropriations to the institution "prohibits expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy" and "celebrate the achievements of women in the American Women's History Museum and do not recognize men as women in any respect in the Museum."[2]
The order also directs the Secretary of the Interior to determine whether, since January 1, 2020, if any monuments, memorials, statues and markers, within the departments jurisdiction contain any descriptions, depictions, or other content that "inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times)". The department is also ordered to reinstate any pre-existing monuments, memorials, statues and markers that have been removed or changed to "perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology."[3][5]
Background
Confederate monuments and memorials
More than 160 Confederate monuments and memorials to the Confederate States of America (CSA; the Confederacy) and associated figures have been removed from public spaces in the United States, all but five of which have been since 2015. Some have been removed by state and local governments; others have been torn down by protestors. At least 90 monuments were removed in 2020, the most since 2009, the first year that removals occurred.[6]
Smithsonian Institution
During his first 100 days in office Donald Trump had signed a number of different executive orders that take action against various cultural organizations like the Kennedy Center and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, that he alleged had come under a woke and "race-centered" ideology.[7][8][9]
In the executive order Trump alleged that the Smithsonian Institution had "come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology."[7][10]
Additionally in the order, he made various unfounded claims about the institution, such as that “the National Museum of African American History and Culture has proclaimed that 'hard work', 'individualism', and 'the nuclear family' are aspects of 'White culture.'"[7][11]
References
- ^ "Trump signs order to 'restore' American history with Smithsonian Institution overhaul". NPR. Archived from the original on April 4, 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ a b c Schuessler, Jennifer (March 29, 2025). "What to Know About Trump's Order Taking Aim at the Smithsonian". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ a b "Trump wants to restore statues and monuments. Will that happen?". NPR. Archived from the original on April 4, 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ "How will Trump's executive order affect the Smithsonian?". NPR. Archived from the original on April 1, 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History". Federal Register. April 3, 2025. Archived from the original on April 4, 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ "A record number of Confederate monuments fell in 2020, but hundreds still stand. Here's where". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 11, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ a b c "What is the Smithsonian, and why is President Trump unhappy with it?". AP News. March 28, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
- ^ Avila, Joseph De. "Trump Orders Removal of 'Divisive Race-Centered Ideology' From Smithsonian". WSJ. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
- ^ "Trump to attend Kennedy Center performance of 'Les Misérables'". New York Daily News. June 11, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
- ^ Veltman, Chloe (March 28, 2025). "Trump executive order seeks to 'restore' American history through Smithsonian overhaul". NPR. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
- ^ Smith, David (March 30, 2025). "'It reminds you of a fascist state': Smithsonian Institution braces for Trump rewrite of US history". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 2, 2025.