On 21 July 2026, the House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency held a hearing in which Republican lawmakers criticised the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History for what they described as an excessive focus on "oppressors and the oppressed" in its portrayal of US history. Director Anthea Hartig faced pointed questioning from committee chair Tim Burchett and Republicans Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert, who accused the museum of promoting a "woke" ideology at the expense of a more traditional national narrative. The hearing reflects a wider political battle over how federally funded cultural institutions present American history, particularly regarding race, identity and the legacies of the Founding Fathers.

The dispute follows a White House report published on 4 July 2026 that accused the Smithsonian of "institutional capture by a radical, activist ideology," criticising its treatment of the Founding Fathers, LGBTQ+ content and material it deemed "anti-American". Hartig defended the museum as nonpartisan, saying it had simply incorporated "evidence, voices and objects that earlier tellings left out". House Democrats, including Kweisi Mfume, pushed back with a 16-page rebuttal arguing that museums remain among the most trusted American institutions and accusing the administration of attempting to rewrite history, while Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III was also drawn into the broader controversy.