On May 30, Trump announced that he had fired Kim Sajet, the director of the Smithsonian museum, for her perceived partisanship and support of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Since entering the position 12 years ago, Sajet realized that the museum’s collection tilted toward “the wealthy, the pale and the male.” She has emphasized the importance of featuring more contemporary artists. This appears to be Trump’s reason for calling her “a strong supporter of DEI” and firing her.
However, it is questionable if the President even has the authority to unilaterally fire the director. The Smithsonian Institute is independent from the federal government “despite receiving two-thirds of its budget from Congress.” The brazenness of the move is consistent with his view that the strength of the Presidency is overwhelming.
The museum’s bylaws don’t have a provision for terminations, and some legal experts believe that the president would first need approval from the Smithsonian’s board of trustees, because he does not directly control the organization. However, this year he called on Vice President JD Vance, who is a member of the Smithsonian’s board, to work with Congress to overhaul the institution.
The New York Times
This marks a continuation of Trump’s attempts to reshape culture and the arts in a right-wing image. He has also installed himself as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
