President issues order to add signage warning of ideological capture at Smithsonian
The order directs the Interior Secretary, OMB, GSA and domestic policy aide to install temporary signage on National Park Service walkways warning visitors about the National Museum of American History's alleged ideological bias, effective July 24, 2026.
Executive Order 14416, signed July 24, 2026, directs the Secretary of the Interior, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Administrator of General Services, and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy to use all available authorities to restore trust in the Smithsonian Institution. The order follows a review by the Domestic Policy Council and the report titled "Saving America's Story: How Ideological Capture at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History Erases Our Heritage."
The Interior Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Park Service and in coordination with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, must install temporary signage along NPS-maintained sidewalks and walkways that lead to the National Museum of American History. The signage will inform visitors of the report's findings, direct them to resources for accurate historical information, and note that museum exhibits should be renovated in line with those findings. In addition, the order requires temporary exhibits or signage that correct inaccurate information and honor the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence during the museum's 250th-anniversary year.
General provisions state that the order does not impair any statutory authority of executive departments, does not create any enforceable right or benefit, and must be implemented consistent with applicable law and the availability of appropriations. Publication costs are to be borne by the Department of the Interior.
The order references Executive Order 14253, issued March 27, 2025, and is filed as FR Doc. 2026-15357 in the Federal Register (Vol. 91, No. 144, July 29, 2026).