{"id":776092,"date":"2026-07-21T15:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T15:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/776092\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T15:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T15:46:11","slug":"burchett-opens-hearing-on-extreme-political-activism-at-the-smithsonians-national-museum-of-american-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/776092\/","title":{"rendered":"Burchett Opens Hearing on Extreme Political Activism at the Smithsonian\u2019s National Museum of American History"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON\u2014Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency Chairman Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) delivered opening remarks at today\u2019s hearing on \u201cRewriting American History: Examining the Smithsonian\u2019s Efforts to Reshape the Past<\/a>.\u201d In his remarks, Subcommittee Chairman Burchett underscored that the National Museum of American History (NMAH) has strayed from its original purpose of teaching about the great history and heritage of the United States, instead using radical left-wing narratives and agendas to retell history. He also noted that these narratives are driven by NMAH Director Dr. Anthea Hartig, who believes that history is a \u201cprime tool of social justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Below are Subcommittee Chairman Burchett\u2019s opening remarks as prepared for delivery:<\/p>\n

Good morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019re here today to find out how a once-proud American institution fell victim to ideological capture \u2013 and how to rescue it.<\/p>\n

The Smithsonian Institution\u2019s National Museum of American History was opened in 1964 to instill in Americans and foreign visitors alike an appreciation of this Nation\u2019s distinctive heritage\u2014and to celebrate its singular story as a beacon of freedom and opportunity.<\/p>\n

But the Museum has strayed from the original purpose for which it exists and receives federal taxpayer support. It\u2019s become infected by a woke ideology that\u2019s seeped into its public displays, educational materials, and planning documents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The American story is the birth and growth of a great Nation founded on powerful ideals, of which we aim to fully achieve. But in the Museum\u2019s current telling, history is just an ongoing power struggle between oppressors and the oppressed. Only the oppressed are celebrated\u2014especially illegal immigrants.<\/p>\n

The Museum promotes educational curricula that recommends teachers to avoid using the terms \u201cillegal alien\u201d and \u201cillegal immigrant\u201d while instructing them how to use the terms \u201cgender fluidity\u201d and \u201cgender non-conforming.\u201d<\/p>\n

It hosts staff discussion groups on how museums can be used to foster social action against \u201cwhite privilege\u201d and \u201chetero-patriarchy.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Museum display even accuses Mickey Mouse of having racist origins.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The many examples of politicization at the Museum are well documented in a comprehensive report the White House Domestic Policy Council recently issued on July 4th, the Nation\u2019s 250th\u00a0Anniversary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The report makes clear the Museum\u2019s woke exhibits and materials reflect a broader vision held by the Museum leadership, particularly its Director, Dr. Althea Hartig, who is here with us today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr. Hartig proudly takes credit for changing the Museum\u2019s mission statement, which no longer uses the term \u201cAmerican history\u201d or refers to the \u201cinfinite richness\u201d of that history.<\/p>\n

The Museum is now guided by an \u201cInterpretive Plan\u201d that ensures all topics focus on \u201cthe core issues of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want to guess what those are?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cRace and identity,\u201d \u201cgender and sexuality,\u201d \u201cenvironmental change,\u201d \u201cimmigration and migrations,\u201d and \u201ceconomic inequality\u201d top the list.<\/p>\n

Also, a \u201cCenter for Restorative Justice\u201d at the Museum, created under Dr. Hartig\u2019s watch, hosts a \u201cdecolonization working group\u201d to \u201cinvestigate historical harms that result in ongoing systemic oppression.\u201d<\/p>\n

To remove any doubt about her intentions, Dr. Hartig, in her own words, states that she views history as \u201ca prime tool of social justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here is a brief, telling video. The Director of the Museum of American History, in her public remarks, repeatedly implies Americans are illegitimately occupying their own country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON\u2014Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency Chairman Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) delivered opening remarks at today\u2019s hearing on \u201cRewriting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":776093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-776092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/776093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}