Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History
The order directs the Vice President, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Office of Management and Budget to remove what the order calls ideologically distorted content from Smithsonian Institution museums, seek new appropriations conditions for the Smithsonian, reinstate federal monuments and memorials altered since January 2020, and complete infrastructure improvements at Independence National Historical Park by July 4, 2026.
It represents a broad federal effort to reshape how government-controlled historical sites, museums, and public monuments present American history, reaching from the National Mall to parks across the country.
What this order does
What it orders
The order directs the Vice President to use his seat on the Smithsonian Board of Regents to remove what it calls improper ideology from Smithsonian museums, education centers, and the National Zoo, and to recommend further actions to the President. It directs the Vice President and the OMB Director to work with Congress to attach conditions to future Smithsonian appropriations, including prohibiting exhibits that "divide Americans based on race" and barring the American Women's History Museum from recognizing men as women. The Secretary of the Interior is directed to improve infrastructure at Independence National Historical Park with a completion deadline of July 4, 2026, review all monuments and memorials within Interior's jurisdiction changed since January 1, 2020, reinstate pre-existing monuments where appropriate, and ensure that all such properties do not contain content the order characterizes as disparaging to Americans.
Implementation depends on the Vice President's influence on the Smithsonian Board, future congressional appropriations action, and the Secretary of the Interior's own determinations about which monuments qualify for reinstatement. The order is subject to the availability of appropriations and applicable law, and it does not create enforceable individual rights.
Who it affects
The Smithsonian Institution and its museums, research centers, and the National Zoo; the National Park Service and sites within Interior's jurisdiction, including Independence National Historical Park; federal contractors and curators who develop exhibits; and members of the public who visit these institutions.
Why it matters
Visitors to Smithsonian museums and federal historical parks may see exhibit content changed or removed. Monuments and memorials on federal land altered since 2020 could be reinstated. Future Smithsonian funding from Congress could be conditioned on compliance with the order's content standards.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
The Vice President serves as the primary actor for Smithsonian changes, working through his existing Board of Regents seat — giving the order influence over governance without direct executive control of the institution. Smithsonian appropriations conditions require congressional action, so that lever depends on legislative cooperation. The Secretary of the Interior triggers the monument review independently; reinstatement requires a formal determination and must comply with existing public lands statutes. The Independence National Historical Park infrastructure improvement has a hard date tied to the Declaration's 250th anniversary.
Actions and deadlines
- Vice President to work through Smithsonian Board of Regents to remove improper ideology from Smithsonian properties and recommend further actions to the President
- Vice President and OMB Director to work with Congress to attach content-related conditions to future Smithsonian appropriations
- Vice President to work with congressional leaders to seek appointment of citizen members to Smithsonian Board of Regents aligned with order's policy
- OMB Director and Secretary of the Interior to take other measures within their authority to promote the order's history policy
- Secretary of the Interior to provide sufficient funding to complete infrastructure improvements at Independence National Historical Park
- Secretary of the Interior to determine whether monuments, memorials, or similar properties under Interior's jurisdiction were removed or altered to distort history since January 1, 2020
- Secretary of the Interior to reinstate pre-existing monuments, memorials, statues, and markers where appropriate and consistent with applicable law
- Secretary of the Interior to ensure all public monuments and properties under Interior's jurisdiction do not contain content the order characterizes as disparaging to Americans