The Smithsonian National Museum of American History's director, Anthea Hartig, found herself at a loss for words during a House hearing on alleged "extreme political activism" at the museum. Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina pressed Hartig on a fundamental question about sex and gender.
Mace asked Hartig, "Do you believe that men can become women?" Hartig hesitated, responding, "Ma'am, as the director of the museum, that's not relevant in this case." Mace countered, "It's very relevant," pointing to images of Smithsonian displays featuring drag queens. "Do you think men can become women? Yes or no?" Hartig failed to provide a direct answer, instead discussing one of the drag queen displays.
Mace interrupted Hartig, asking, "What is a woman, Dr. Hartig?" Hartig began to answer, but Mace cut her off, saying, "You sexualized the American History Museum. So, this is a fair question. What is a woman?" Hartig responded, "We strive to represent and not categorize all Americans." Mace then asked, "So, enlighten me this morning: how many genders are there?" Hartig hesitated before asking, "Ma’am, which glossary?" Mace pressed further, asking, "One of your exhibits at the American History Museum says sometimes gender isn't revealed at birth. So, when is gender revealed?"
Hartig answered, "When was your gender revealed to you, Dr. Hartig?" smiling, and then changed the subject. Mace insisted, "It is relevant. You have a display at the American History Museum talking about, 'Gender isn't always revealed at birth.' So, when was your gender revealed?" Hartig began to answer, but the committee chair yielded the floor back to Mace.
A recent White House report concluded that the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History has become a taxpayer-backed institution of "ideological capture" and "extreme political activism." The report, titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," argues that the museum treats the American story as a political tool rather than a shared national inheritance.
The report concludes that the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of American History under its current leadership and current interpretive ideology cannot be trusted to tell America's story honestly. The report's executive summary began, "At the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, visitors young and old should encounter the story of the United States told with honesty, seriousness, and pride." Hartig said in her opening statement that the Smithsonian takes the concerns raised in the report seriously.
The White House Domestic Policy Council wrote in its July 4 report, "The Smithsonian Institution, and the National Museum of American History in particular, under its current leadership and current interpretive ideology, cannot be trusted to tell America's story honestly and in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic." The report was delivered in response to President Donald Trump's March 27 executive order.
