The head of the Smithsonian Institution announced his retirement Tuesday, stepping down amid an escalating clash with the Trump administration over the leadership and direction of the nation’s museums.
Lonnie Bunch III, who has led the Smithsonian since 2019 and was the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, said he will leave the post by the end of the year.
“It is with very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude that I announce my retirement from the Smithsonian,” Bunch said in a press release. “I have spent nearly half of my life working at and being part of the Smithsonian family, and what a privilege it has been. There is no place like the Smithsonian — it has been one of the great loves of my life, and I am extraordinarily proud of what we have accomplished together.”
“I leave with pride and sadness, gratitude and joy, and with enormous confidence in the people who will carry this remarkable institution forward,” he added.
Bunch’s departure comes as the Trump administration has intensified scrutiny of the Smithsonian, accusing its leadership of allowing progressive ideology to shape its presentation of American history and raising concerns about potential violations of federal nondiscrimination law.
In a letter recently made public by the Department of the Interior, the administration said the Smithsonian leadership’s “institutional culture may have resulted in significant violations of Federal antidiscrimination law,” including allegedly creating a hostile work environment and allocating opportunities, funding and other benefits based on race, ethnicity and other protected characteristics.
The letter did not include specific evidence of illegal activity, and the Department of the Interior did not provide further information when previously reached for comment by Fox News Digital.
The administration warned that federal agencies could withdraw certain forms of support if its concerns are not addressed, saying an “appropriate response” from the Smithsonian “must likewise address executive leadership and institutional ideology.”
The pressure follows a 2025 executive order directing officials to seek the removal of what the administration called “improper ideology” from the Smithsonian.
Bunch became the Smithsonian’s 14th secretary in June 2019, making him the first African American and first historian to hold the position. He previously led the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, serving as its founding director from 2005 through its opening in 2016.
Bunch first joined the Smithsonian in 1978 and has spent nearly four decades at the institution, apart from a period when he served as president of the Chicago Historical Society.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who serves as chancellor of the Smithsonian, praised Bunch’s tenure and said the institution would work with him to ensure a smooth transition.
“From his days as a young curator at the National Air and Space and American History Museums through his tenure as the founding director of the African American History and Culture Museum and culminating in his distinguished service for the past seven years in the Smithsonian’s top job, Secretary Bunch has pursued excellence in the telling of our nation’s story,” Roberts said.
Smithsonian Board of Regents Chair Franklin D. Raines said the board will announce an acting secretary and begin a national search for Bunch’s successor.
Fox News Digital’s Robert Schmad contributed to this report.
