Lonnie Bunch Is Leaving the Smithsonian
Lonnie Bunch, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, is set to retire following months of tension with the White House. The administration has pressured the institution over its historical narratives and funding.
Why it matters
The departure highlights the ongoing political struggle over the control and interpretation of national history in federally funded cultural institutions.
After months of clashes with the White House, the historian and leader of the institution is retiring later this year.
Al Drago / The Washington Post / Getty September 8, 2026, 11:56 AM ET Share Save Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch plans to announce his retirement from the institution at the end of this year, bringing to a close a tenure marked by unprecedented pressure on the museum complex from a White House keen on controlling how to tell the nation’s history. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the departure to The Atlantic .
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