Bipartisan support for the National Museum of the American Latino endures, despite anti-DEI push.
Trump issues order forcing museums to remove ‘improper ideology’
President Donald Trump has issued an order attempting to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution, targeting funding for programs that advance “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology.”
Fox – 5 DC
WASHINGTON ‒ In the midst of the Trump administration’s efforts to rollback diversity initiatives, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators is pushing for a site on the National Mall for a museum focused on the American Latino experience.
“Latinos have been at the heart of U.S. history for hundreds of years, shaping American culture, communities and business,” Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California, said in a statement. “The story of the American Latino, and the simultaneous fight for equality by American women, should be enshrined on the National Mall, the tapestry of the United States.’’
The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino Act proposed by Padilla and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas would locate the museum in one of the four remaining slots on the mall. Congress must pass legislation to approve a waiver to use that location.
There is also bipartisan support for the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act to be located on the mall. That measure is led by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming.
Enthusiasm for the museums and their prominent location comes at the same time as the Trump administration’s campaign to eliminate diversity initiatives at the Smithsonian, across the federal government and in the private sector.
In a recent order, titled “Restoring truth and sanity to American history,” President Donald Trump complained the Smithsonian has “come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.” It calls for Vice President JD Vance to join in a role with the Smithsonian Board of Regents to help map out new policies.
Latino museum to spotlight history
The Latino museum and other Smithsonian institutions have long received bipartisan support.
Congressed approved bipartisan legislation for the Latino museum in late 2020. Then-president Trump signed it into law during his first term. Two years later, the Smithsonian named the museum’s first permanent director, Jorge Zamanillo, and unveiled a gallery dedicated to the U.S. Latino experience in the National Museum of American History.
The Smithsonian Board of Regents recommended a site on the mall near the Tidal Basin.
Juan Proaño, CEO of LULAC, said the Latino civil rights organization stands by efforts to put museums focused on the Latino experience and one on women’s history on the National Mall.
But Proaño is worried some lawmakers might try to stall the process.
He called Trump’s order and other, similar efforts, attempts at the “whitewashing of our history, of African American History and Latino history, of contributions of indigenous communities from around the country. That is a big, big concern.”
Proano, activists and historians said the Smithsonian museums are integral parts of the nation’s history and should not be allowed to be politicized.
“They would effectively try and implement some sort of DEI cleansing of our national institutions, which are the cornerstone of the history of this country,’’ he said.
Others are worried about the fate of the Smithsonian more broadly. Four Democrats on the House Administration Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Smithsonian Institution, wrote to Vance expressing concerns about Trump’s executive order and his singling out Smithsonian museums, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“This flagrant attempt to erase Black history is unacceptable and must be stopped,’’ they wrote in the letter dated April 17, led by New York Rep. Joseph Morelle, the top Democrat on the committee. “The attempt to paper over elements of American history is both cowardly and unpatriotic.’’
Former Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican from Florida, who was a lead sponsor of the Latino museum legislation along with former California Democrat Rep. Xavier Becerra, said support has always been bipartisan.
“It will take members from both sides of the aisle to come together and get this bill across the finish line,” she said in a statement.