Smithsonian Director Humiliates Herself During House Hearing

I’m sure that Anthea Hartig, the director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, walked into a congressional hearing room Tuesday morning thinking she could talk her way past the obvious questions. Instead, she left having proven exactly why what her museum has been teaching has so alarmed the White House.

The hearing marked the first time a top Smithsonian leader has been grilled publicly by Congress since President Donald Trump signed his March 27, 2025, executive order, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History." The order directed Vice President JD Vance, in consultation with the president's domestic policy advisers, "to remove improper ideology" from Smithsonian institutions, arguing that materials casting America in a "negative light" have no place in federal cultural institutions.

The White House released a scathing report earlier this month accusing the Smithsonian of presenting "a radical view of American history." Hartig, naturally, disagreed. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) was not interested in her disagreement.

Gill asked whether objectivity is a goal of history. It sounded like an easy question. "We strive to be objective and nonpartisan, and not based on any ideology," Hartig said. That answer was all Gill needed.

"Doesn't that seem a little bit concerning?" Gill asked. "It certainly does to me, because as part of this white supremacy document your organization has promoted objectivity as a core and defining aspect of white supremacy culture. Do you think that it's the goal of the Smithsonian Institution to promote white supremacy culture?"

Hartig tried to put distance between herself and the guide in question, known as the Mass Action Toolkit, insisting, "We didn't develop it."

"It is your toolkit," he said. "You've been promoting it for quite some time."

Then came the Mickey Mouse question.

Gill noted that one Smithsonian exhibit described Mickey Mouse as representing "vestiges of longstanding traditions of blackface minstrelsy." Asked whether that was racist, Hartig delivered a non-answer for the ages: "It's not for me to determine what's problematic; it's determined to me what's accurate."

Gill then pointed out that the same toolkit lists politeness as a defining characteristic of white supremacy culture. "Ma'am, are you a white supremacist?" he asked. Hartig said no. "Can you help me square why your organization says that being polite is part of being a white supremacist?"

Spoiler alert: She couldn't.

🚨 OMG. Brutal moment as Rep. Brandon Gill embarrasses Smithsonian Director Hartig with this line of questioning

GILL: Is it important to be polite?

HARTIG: Yes

GILL: Your organization says politeness is a defining characteristic of white supremacy culture. Ma'am, are you a… pic.twitter.com/Yeoqtx32G9
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 21, 2026

Hartig fared no better with Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who pressed her on an exhibit called "Entertainment Nation" that displayed images of bondage and other adult content alongside a separate exhibit in which, Burchett said, a 6-year-old girl asked why she didn't have male genitalia. "Do you think little girls have penises?" Burchett asked. "Do you think that's appropriate?"

Of course, Hartig dodged and tried to pivot, but Burchett wasn't letting her get away with it. "You are not answering the questions," he said. "You are funded by taxpayers, and the taxpayers would like to know, is that appropriate?"

Hartig never gave him a yes or no.

Hartig didn't just fail to answer questions on Tuesday. She sat in front of Congress and watched her own institution's ideology get read back to her, line by line, until she had nowhere left to hide. She couldn't defend the toolkit. She couldn't defend the exhibit. She'd essentially confirmed everything the White House accused her museum of, one dodge at a time.

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