Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch to Retire After Clashes With White House

Lonnie G. Bunch III, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, announced Tuesday that he will retire at the end of the year after 38 years at the institution, NBC News and PBS News reported. Bunch, who has led the museum complex since 2019 and is the institution’s first Black leader, NBC reported, described “very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude”, NBC News reported.

His departure follows months of friction with the Trump administration over how the museums present American history. NBC News reported, citing a source, that Bunch had wanted to retire a year earlier but stayed to defend the institution. Last week, the Interior Department, in a letter from Secretary Doug Burgum, threatened to cut the Smithsonian’s support, accusing its facilities of promoting “radical ideology” that weakens shared American identity, according to NBC. After that letter, Bunch concluded it was time to leave and help with the transition.

The conflict has a long paper trail. In March 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Vice President JD Vance, who sits on the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents, to remove “improper, divisive, or anti-American” ideology from its programs. In August 2025, Trump said he had asked “my attorneys” to review the museums. On July 4, the White House Domestic Policy Council issued a report calling Smithsonian leadership radical and saying the National Museum of American History could not be trusted, NBC News reported. Two attendees told NBC that Vance criticized Bunch’s leadership at a regents meeting months ago.

Bunch has rejected the claim of bias. “We haven’t changed anything from political pressure,” he said in a PBS interview, while acknowledging that “there’s no doubt that this is a difficult time.” He said the institution’s North Star is scholarship and that it has served administrations of many viewpoints.

The regents, who govern the Smithsonian, did not pressure him to resign, a source told NBC News. Chief Justice John Roberts, the institution’s chancellor, praised Bunch’s leadership. The regents are forming a search committee and considering internal candidates for the transition, and Bunch has said he will stay three to four months to ease the changeover.

Who replaces Bunch has not been announced. PBS reported that the White House also sent a letter in August 2025 ordering a content review ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary, and that the administration recently threatened to withhold federal support.