Trump Administration Presses Smithsonian Over Exhibit Content

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History opened an exhibit in November 2021 titled "The Electric Dr. Franklin," celebrating Benjamin Franklin's work in electrical science. Tucked into the display was a harder claim: that Franklin's household enslaved people may have been used, without their consent, in his shock experiments. "Franklin wrote about experiments in which he took shocks and used family and friends in these ways, although he seldom identified who in particular assisted him," the exhibit text read, according to a ProPublica investigation published via Ars Technica. "Indentured servants and enslaved people in his household could also have been used, although we may never know for certain."

That exhibit, which closed in 2025 but remains archived online, is now Exhibit A in a White House campaign accusing the Smithsonian of "ideological capture," according to the ProPublica report, published by Ars Technica.

What did the White House report allege about the museum?

A 162-page report released by the White House on July 4 — timed to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — argued the National Museum of American History had "moved the Museum's mission away from straightforward historical education and scholarship toward an extreme political activism that seeks to transform our country," the report states, as quoted by ProPublica. The Franklin exhibit's speculation about enslaved people assisting in electrical experiments was cited as one example of the pattern the report describes.

"Moved the Museum's mission away from straightforward historical education and scholarship toward an extreme political activism that seeks to transform our country." — White House report on the National Museum of American History, July 2026

How did this pressure campaign start?

The White House report followed an executive order Trump signed in March 2025 declaring that the Smithsonian had succumbed to "divisive, race-centered ideology," according to ProPublica's account. That order set the stage for the July report and for a second executive order, also signed in July, instructing the Department of the Interior to post signs outside the museum warning visitors about its content.

What happened at the congressional hearings?

Later in July, two House committees held back-to-back hearings on the report. Republican members questioned museum director Anthea Hartig about specific artifacts, including what ProPublica described as a "chrome and rubber crotch harness" designed for sadomasochistic sex, part of the museum's broader collection. The hearings extended the fight from a single exhibit to the institution's overall curatorial choices.

Has the Smithsonian faced this kind of political pressure before?

Not at this scale. ProPublica's reporting notes the Smithsonian has "managed to stay mostly above the political fray" for decades, with the main prior exception being the 1995 controversy over the National Air and Space Museum's planned exhibit on the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The institution draws roughly 15 million visitors a year across 21 museums, a scale ProPublica says has no real global peer.

By the numbers

• 162 pages — length of the White House report on the National Museum of American History, released July 4, 2026
• 15 million — annual visitors across the Smithsonian's 21 museums, per ProPublica's reporting
• 2021–2025 — the run of "The Electric Dr. Franklin" exhibit before it closed
• 1995 — the last comparable political controversy, over the Enola Gay exhibit at the Air and Space Museum

What happens next for the museum?

ProPublica's account does not report a final resolution. The Interior Department has been instructed to install warning signage outside the museum, and the Franklin exhibit itself has already closed, though its text remains archived online. Congressional scrutiny, via the two House committee hearings, continues to center on Hartig's leadership and the museum's exhibit choices.

Glossary

Ideological capture — the term used in the White House report to describe what it characterizes as a shift in museum curation from historical scholarship toward political advocacy.

National Museum of American History — one of 21 Smithsonian Institution museums, located in Washington, D.C., focused on U.S. history and culture.

Executive order — a directive issued by the president that carries the force of law for federal agencies without requiring congressional approval; Trump has issued two related to the Smithsonian since March 2025.

For the full investigation, including additional exhibit-by-exhibit detail from the White House report, see ProPublica's reporting via Ars Technica.

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