Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., has backed legislation directing executive appointees to the Smithsonian Board of Regents to remove improper ideology and divisive racial narratives from Smithsonian properties.
According to a news release from Banks’ office, the Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History Act would prohibit future Smithsonian projects from degrading American values, dividing Americans based on race, or violating federal law and policy; prohibit the American Women’s History Museum from recognizing men as women or promoting radical gender ideology; and provide for the reinstatement of other American historical sites, including those overseen by the National Park Service, that have been removed or changed for ideological reasons.
“It’s time to stop letting activists rewrite our past,” Banks said in the news release. “This bill puts President [Donald] Trump’s order into law to ensure our national museums celebrate our values, our heroes, and what makes America great.”
Trump in May issued an executive order to “restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness – igniting the imagination of young minds, honoring the richness of American history and innovation, and instilling pride in the hearts of all Americans.”
Since the 2020 race riots, the Smithsonian’s taxpayer-funded museums have been criticized for embracing hard-line left-wing talking points and interpretations, the New York Post reported Tuesday.
In one example, according to the Post, the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall published a graphic claiming that “objective, rational, linear thinking,” “quantitative emphasis,” and the attitude of “hard work before play” were “white” qualities. The museum apologized for the display.
Banks also told the Post about recent efforts by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum to spotlight transgender female athletes, and his bill stipulates the Institution can’t “recognize men as women in any respect.”
Last month, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., introduced similar legislation that would codify Trump’s executive order.
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