Report: Objects Under Government Review

Analyzing the 7/4/26 White House Domestic Policy Council Report

By Justin Pullins and Margaux Newell

Researchers for Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian

October 2nd, 2026

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Executive Summary

Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian has conducted a detailed review of the July 2026 White House Domestic Policy Council Report, compiling a list of the 14 objects the report flags as objectionable and evaluating them. In reviewing their underlying evidence, we have found:

43% of exhibits mentioned in the report had closed months or sometimes years before the report was released, denying Americans the ability to check the reports’ findings for themselves.
36% of the targeted items were focused on LGBTQIA+ history.
28% of the targeted items were focused on Latine history.
36% of targeted items are from the 1970s and 1980s.
11 times: The number of times the report complained about butterflies.

Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian has successfully documented all public displays since August 2025, building an archive of over 73,000 photos and videos. The Smithsonian Institution preserves and showcases around 1.7 million objects or fewer every year. The White House and their allies are attempting to use their objections to a 0.000001% of those objects to significantly and pointedly erase the fullness of America’s history and people throughout Smithsonian Institutions and exhibitions, as well as a reason to “fire all the leaders of the 21 museums,” as one Heritage Foundation Senior Fellow put it.

Introduction

On March 27, 2025, within his first 100 days of his second term, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14253, known as “Restoring Truth and Sanity to America’s History.” The order details the administration’s intention to influence and censor the Smithsonian's public exhibitions, collections, and narrative framings from what it believes has been its “ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.”

In August 2025, three members of the White House staff, Lindsay Halligan, Vince Haley, and Russell Vought, wrote a letter to the Smithsonian. With particular urgency in preparation of the then-upcoming 250th anniversary celebrations, the White House identified 8 institutions as a part of Phase 1 of their review under Executive Order 14253. Those institutions were the following, listed in the following order:

National Museum of American History
National Museum of Natural History
National Museum of African American History and Culture
National Museum of the American Indian
National Air and Space Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
National Portrait Gallery
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

In this letter, the White House makes clear its intent to not only influence the objects on display, but also to exert control over the planning and curatorial aspects of the Smithsonian’s work, setting benchmarks for the Smithsonian to meet, requesting materials, documents and staff to aid in its review. The Smithsonian ultimately did not meet these benchmarks to the administration’s liking.

In December 2025 Vince Haley and Russel Vought sent a follow-up letter, soliciting information on the Smithsonian’s displays.

On July 4, 2026, America’s semiquincentennial, the White House Domestic Policy Council released its report, entitled Saving America’s Story: How Ideological Capture at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History Erases Our Heritage. The 162-page report focused exclusively on NMAH and summarizes the Smithsonian’s mission and work as engaging in “anti-white, illegal alien, and transgender activism.” It includes over a dozen photos of specific museum objects and more mentions in the text that the authors flag.

Timeline of White House Pressure

March 2025: EO 14253 critiques specific objects and exhibitions on display in the Smithsonian.
August 2025: Lindsey Halligan, Vince Haley, and Russell Vought sign a letter demanding scripts from exhibits
December 2025: Vince Haley, and Russell Vought sign a letter demanding more scripts from exhibits
July 2026: The White House Domestic Policy Council, chaired by Vince Haley, issues a report listing specific objects and exhibitions the White House objects to, as well as exhibits the writers believe should be on display, along with 229 mentions of National Museum of American History Director Hartig’s name.
July 2026: EO 14416 orders the Department of the Interior to erect signs outside of the National Museum of American History claiming that the museum included “inaccurate information.”

While the March 2025 Executive Order listed specific objects the White House objected to, it was not until the July 2026 White House Domestic Policy Council Report that staff there resumed trying to control not just the speech of museum workers, not just the didactic wall texts describing the objects in the museum, but the objects themselves. This briefing identifies those objects and evaluates whose stories they seek to tell, to try to better understand the trends and future aims of this White House in its efforts to censor the Smithsonian.

Methodology

Volunteer researchers reviewed the July 2026 report in detail, counting each physical and digital object flagged by the authors that is, or previously had been displayed at the NMAH. They then evaluated what communities that object appeared to be intended to showcase the history of and compiled statistics summarizing the overall targeting trends. The goal was to identify what primary sources of America’s history the White House is attempting to censor.

Findings

We found that 28% of objects flagged in the White House report focused on Latine history, with a particular emphasis on immigration and immigrant's stories, 36% of flags focused on LGBTQIA+ history, with focus on trans, nonbinary and/or gender-nonconforming people and 36% of targeted items are from the 1970s and 1980s. Additionally, 43% of objects are no longer on view, as the exhibitions concluded their scheduled runs. For example, Girlhood (It’s Complicated) (objects #2, #6, #9) closed in January 2023 and Illegal to be You: Gay History Beyond Stonewall (object #10) closed in 2021.

The July 2026 report authors flag butterfly motifs 11 times on pages 24, 39, 40, 58, 59, 60 (twice), 61, 62 (twice), 116 (twice). They explain their lepidopteran concerns on page 38, writing that Monarch butterflies are:

“[...] a well-known symbol in the illegal alien activist community, symbolizing illegal aliens crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S. (mirroring the migration patterns of Monarch butterflies across North America), the fight to grant illegal aliens U.S. citizenship, and President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program—which was designed to protect millions of illegal aliens from deportation.” (38)

The objects include a mural, a graduation gown, a book, an umbrella, and a t-shirt. The umbrella and the t-shirt are from the 1970s; DACA became law in 2012. For concision, this report counts each object once rather than counting the references.

Findings in Detail

Listed below are the targeted objects from the Saving America’s Story July 2026 report, as well as the stated objections of each item from the White House.

1. Gateways/Portales mural

Museums: National Museum of American History (NMAH) website: Becoming US; Anacostia Community Museum

Date: 2016

Text of the objection:

Image caption for two pictures of the Becoming US homepage and the mural:

“Screenshots of image on the ‘Becoming US’ homepage, depicting multiple monarch butterflies symbolizing illegal aliens’ fight for U.S. citizenship, and phrases like ‘UNDOCUMENTED AND UNAFRAID’ and ‘SOCIAL JUSTICE,’ [...]”

White House Report Page #: 40

More information on the object:

https://anacostia.si.edu/collection/archives/object/sova-acma-03-102-ref270

Note: The mural is located at Anacostia Community Museum.

2. Monarch Butterfly Wings

Museum: National Museum of American History (NMAH)

Exhibit: Girlhood (It's complicated) exhibit closed in January 2023.

Date: 2018

Text of the objection:

“Within Girlhood (It’s Complicated), NMAH included a display case featuring ‘DACA Wings’ with the phrases ‘#Here to Fight’ and ‘Undocumented & UNAFRAID’ written on the back. Surrounding the ‘DACA Wings’ case, NMAH placed four panels featuring various didactics; all

four talk about citizenship and include didactics with titles like ‘Raising Citizens,’ ‘Claiming Citizenship,’ and ‘Making Citizens.’ ” [A picture of the Monarch Butterfly Wings follows]

White House Report Page #: 58

More information on the object:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1888672

3. Youth Vote Umbrella

Museum: National Museum of American History

Exhibit: American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith is a permanent exhibition.
Date: 1970s

Text of the objection:

“In its American Democracy exhibit, NMAH recently added an umbrella and t-shirt depicting a Monarch butterfly covered in American stars and stripes and the word ‘VOTE’ underneath, implying that illegal aliens should be given the right to vote.” [A picture of the umbrella follows]

White House Report Page #: 62

More information on the object:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_498281

4. Youth Vote Shirt

Museum: National Museum of American History

Exhibit: American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith is a permanent exhibition.

Date: 1970s

Text of the objection:

Same quote as above. [A picture of the shirt follows]

White House Report Page #: 62

More information on the object:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_529666

5. Chest Binder

Museum: National Museum of American History (NMAH)

Exhibit: We Belong Here exhibit closed in November 2025.

Date: 2019 (?)

Text of the objection:

“Similarly, NMAH’s ‘We Belong Here’ exhibit highlights a chest binder that ‘trans nonbinary’ skateboarder Leo Baker used to make herself appear more like a man while skateboarding.” [A picture of the binder follows]

White House Report Page #: 88

More information on the object:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/we-belong-here/online/leo-baker

6. Diary of 13-year-old

Museum: National Museum of American History (NMAH)

Exhibit: Girlhood (It's complicated) exhibit closed in January 2023.
Date: 1985

Text of the objection:

“While refusing to call her a girl in its Girlhood exhibit, NMAH displayed inappropriate pages from Ryan’s diary where she recounts her struggle with being a girl [...].” [A picture of the diary follows]

White House Report Page #: 89

7. Video clips featuring RuPaul's Drag Race & Entertainment Weekly’s 5/2/03 cover with The Chicks (formerly Dixie Chicks)

Museum: National Museum of American History (NMAH)

Exhibit: Entertainment Nation exhibit, open indefinitely.

Date: 2003, Unclear which RuPaul episode clips are from, but the show premiered in 2009.

Text of the objection:

“NMAH also placed sexually suggestive material and other material inappropriate for young children in and around its Entertainment Nation exhibit, which is frequented by families and children, including video clips depicting drag queens and a magazine cover featuring a photo of nude young women.”

White House Report Page #: 90

Note: A total of four video clips; three clips feature Drag Race and one features the Entertainment Weekly cover, on which the (Dixie) Chicks are depicted with words written across their bodies representing the insults and praise they received after criticizing the Iraq War in 2003.

8. Two-piece harness

Museum: National Museum of American History (NMAH)

Exhibit: Illegal to be You: Gay History Beyond Stonewall exhibit closed in July 2021.

Date: 2016

Text to the objection:

“A separate exhibit featured a two-piece chrome and rubber crotch harness designed for sadomasochism (S&M) sexual activity [...]” [A picture of the harness follows]

White House Report Page #: 90

More information on the object:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1829867

9. Naomi Wadler’s scarf

Museum: National Museum of American History (NMAH)

Exhibit: Girlhood (It's complicated) exhibit closed in January 2023.
Date: 2018

Text of the objection:

“NMAH displayed a life-sized poster of Naomi Wadler, an 11-year-old girl who delivered a speech ‘in the 2018 March for Our Lives to end gun violence’ after ‘becoming politically aware at age 5.’ ” [A picture of the scarf display and the didactic follows]

White House Report Page #: 94

More information on the object:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1887924

10. Justice & Dignity for all US Immigrants poster

Museum: National Museum of American History

Exhibit: American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith is a permanent exhibition.

Date: 2006

Text of the objection:

“The right to petition, which is a core right of the First Amendment, is interpreted to mean protest. The exhibit culminates in a wall of thirty-two protest posters, almost all for various progressive causes, such as one calling for ‘basic rights and more efficient pathways to citizenship for the nearly 11 million people living in the country without legal authorization.’ ” [The specific poster is not pictured, but instead singled out in endnote 381]

White House Report Page #: 97

More information on the object:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1329556

11. Day of Mourning Banner

Museum: National Museum of American History (NMAH)

Exhibit: Upending 1620: Where Do We Begin? exhibit closed in September 2022.
Date: 1970

Text of the objection:

“It also reframes Thanksgiving as a ‘National Day of Mourning,’ offers ‘evidence that upends these myths,’ and ‘urges audiences to reexamine these stories without reducing their importance in American history. Fragments from Plymouth Rock are on display, juxtaposed with artifacts from the Wampanoag community, questioning the stone’s role in the Plymouth’s landing and challenging visitors’ preconceptions.’ ” [A picture of the banner follows]

White House Report Pages #: 109-110

More information on the object:

https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/upending-1620/QTpjC87EvKW3dxlA#r/1295625

12. Butterfly Graduation Gown (Jairo Javier Morales, 2020)

Museum: National Museum of American History (NMAH)

Exhibit: In Pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness is an ongoing museum-wide exhibition.

Date: 2020

Text of the objection:

“NMAH created a special display near the main entrance to the Museum (on the first floor), showcasing the butterfly gown and a didactic stating that it ‘expand[ed] the boundaries of belonging’ when it was worn by a ‘queer, Mexican, and undocumented’ man who ‘came out’ at his college graduation.” [A picture of the graduation gown follows]

White House Report Page #: 116

More information on the object:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_2006705

12. Angel Jack Adjusting Her Attire photograph

Museum: National Museum of American History (NMAH)

Exhibit: In Pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness is an ongoing museum-wide exhibition.
Date: 1970-1980s

Text of the objection:

“NMAH also highlighted a framed photo of a drag queen in a separate special display in its Flag Hall (main atrium on the second floor) as well as in its Souvenir Guidebook, again, as part of its In Pursuit programming allegedly designed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s independence. The accompanying didactic states: ‘Drag legend Angel Jack, part of San Francisco’s counterculture in the 1970s, wore thrift-store finds and exaggerated makeup to entertain audiences with parodies of gender norms.’ ”

White House Report Page #: 117

More information on the object:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1403143

14. Farmworkers' Statue of Liberty

Museum: National Museum of American History (NMAH)

Exhibit: Many Voices, One Nation is a permanent exhibition; included in In Pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness, an ongoing museum-wide exhibition.

Date: 2000

Text of the objection:

“NMAH was sure to include its 12-foot immigrant farm worker statue of liberty among its 250 objects as well.”

White House Report Page #: 117

More information on the object:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1255703

Conclusion

In their report’s introduction (page 11), the White House Domestic Policy Council quotes their own August 12, 2025 letter in defining their vision for the National Museum of American History: “Americanism—the people, principles, and progress that define our nation.” Ironically, their work stands in complete opposition to that goal. If the authors of the report had produced it while working as private individuals for a think tank, its arguments could be part of a worthy civil debate on how to tell American history. But they are public servants, funded by taxpayers, seeking to wield the vast budgetary, bureaucratic, and platform powers of the White House against an invaluable historical and cultural institution. This report is not one more salvo in the culture wars: it is a clear and flagrant attempt at censorship.

The report’s flags, often seemingly produced through a superficial, outrage-driven reading of objects and didactics, can allow for a manufactured shock of any of the targeted objects, but they can also consistently deny visitors of the Smithsonian of the larger context, leaving them with a more shallow understanding of the American experience.

The White House's belief that the American perspective in our national museums must align with its own political project will exclude much of the people, principles, and progress that the authors claim to uphold and ultimately, urges the Smithsonian to present a lesser story. We fervently hope the Smithsonian does not heed this demand and continues to conduct its work independently and with the world-class excellence for which it is venerated.

About Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian

Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian is a grassroots organization that since August 2025 has worked to document every public exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution, the Holocaust Museum, the National Zoo, National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, and the National Archives. Our hundreds of volunteers have collected over 73,000 photos and videos for our archive and are working to track and update any new exhibits and changes to existing exhibits. This report is intended to provide a clear-eyed view of the work of the White House and its allies to censor the Smithsonian, to help our volunteers protect the museum and our fellow Americans understand the level of threat to these institutions.

Find out more at citizenhistorians.org

Appendix

NMAH: National Museum of American History

ACM: Anacostia Community Museum