President Donald Trump's administration has escalated a wide-ranging campaign against what it calls "woke" ideology within the Smithsonian Institution, marking one of the most extensive White House reviews of the museum network in decades. The dispute centres on how American history is presented, with the administration pushing back against exhibits and interpretations it views as ideologically biased, and has drawn in congressional Republicans, who have questioned Smithsonian officials directly over allegations of political activism.

The Smithsonian is a vast taxpayer-funded institution, overseeing 21 museums, the National Zoo and nearly 157 million objects and specimens, and receiving more than $1 billion a year in federal funding on top of private donations. The row has also touched on the institution's budgets, which grew significantly under the Biden administration, and has become part of a broader national debate about patriotism, historical interpretation and the proper role of federally funded cultural bodies.