Fresh off her failed Blanche opposition, Murkowski takes on Trump over Smithsonian woke trends

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Aug. 8, 2026 – Sen. Lisa Murkowski, fresh off an unsuccessful attempt to block Todd Blanche from becoming attorney general, has opened another front against President Donald Trump, this time over his effort to confront what the White House calls the ideological capture of the Smithsonian Institution.

The Alaska Republican joined Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon in sending a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum questioning Trump’s directive to place temporary signs and exhibits outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Murkowski chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, while Merkley is its ranking Democrat. The subcommittee oversees funding for both the Interior Department and the Smithsonian.

“As Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, we write to express our concern and to request more information regarding the role the Department of the Interior will have in implementing Executive Order 14416, ‘Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution,’” the senators wrote.

The letter amounts to another Murkowski split with Trump and many of her Republican colleagues, who have argued that the Smithsonian has used taxpayer dollars to advance left-wing political narratives instead of presenting American history with accuracy, balance and pride.

Murkowski and Merkley defended the institution.

“For the past 180 years, the Smithsonian Institution has been committed to sharing objective historical evidence through research and education, not political narratives,” they wrote. “The Smithsonian Institution has worked tirelessly to present a comprehensive narrative of our nation’s amazing history, from its many triumphs to its trials. There is nothing more American than telling our story truthfully.”

That assertion puts Murkowski at odds with the central finding of a recent White House review, which concluded that the Smithsonian’s leadership has treated American history as a tool for promoting social justice and transforming society.

Trump signed Executive Order 14416 on July 24. The order followed a Domestic Policy Council review titled, “Saving America’s Story: How Ideological Capture at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History Erases Our Heritage.”

The report accused the museum of emphasizing division, grievance and political activism while giving insufficient attention to the nation’s founders, achievements and shared heritage, particularly as the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary.

Trump’s order directs Burgum, working through the National Park Service, to place temporary signs along federally maintained sidewalks and walkways leading to the museum. The signs are to inform visitors about the White House report, advise that museum exhibits should be renovated and direct the public toward what the administration describes as accurate information about American history.

The order also calls for temporary exhibits or signs correcting inaccurate information inside the museum, including material relating to the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Murkowski and Merkley are asking whether there is precedent for the federal government to place “conflicting information” near another institution, who will write and approve the signs, how many will be installed, where they will be placed and how large they will be.

They also want the Interior Department to disclose the anticipated cost, source of funding, installation schedule and how long the supposedly temporary signs and exhibits will remain in place.

The senators’ letter focuses largely on oversight, spending and implementation questions. But its broad defense of the Smithsonian’s historical presentations goes further, appearing to reject the administration’s underlying conclusion that the museum has become politically compromised.

The Smithsonian receives roughly $1 billion a year in congressional appropriations, making its operations and exhibits a legitimate matter of oversight for Congress and the administration.

Murkowski’s latest challenge to Trump comes as she faces renewed criticism from Alaska Republicans over her opposition to Blanche.

The Senate confirmed Blanche early Saturday morning by a 50-49 vote. Murkowski and Maine Sen. Susan Collins joined every voting Democrat in opposing the nomination. Blanche was confirmed without their support and is now the 88th attorney general of the United States.

Just hours after Murkowski’s effort to stop Trump’s choice for attorney general fell short, her Smithsonian dispute offered another example of Alaska’s senior senator siding with a Democrat to challenge the Republican administration.

The full Murkowski-Merkley letter asks Burgum to respond to the senators’ questions about the Smithsonian directive and its cost to taxpayers.