Latest news with #KimSajet
Associated Press
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
FOIA Filed Seeking Records on Trump-Ordered Dismissal of Smithsonian Official, Kim Sajet & Board of Regent's Meeting
Highlights Ongoing Questions About Smithsonian's Legal Status and Public Accountability 'It is important that the steps we take ensure a transparent, inclusive and thorough process.'— Lonnie Bunch III, Smithsonian Secretary, June 22, 2022 WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, July 7, 2025 / / -- Artist, author, and free speech activist Julian Marcus Raven, a long-time litigant in matters involving the Smithsonian Institution, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request today seeking internal communications, board deliberations, and government correspondence regarding the high-profile resignation of Kim Sajet, former director of the National Portrait Gallery. The FOIA request, sent to the Smithsonian Institution's Office of General Counsel, senior counsel Jennifer B. McIntyre, requests records from 2016 through 2025 and covers topics including President Donald J. Trump's attempts to remove Sajet, internal deliberations by Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, and email communications involving Smithsonian leadership and the Board of Regents—including Chief Justice John Roberts, who serves as Smithsonian Chancellor. The FOIA was also copied to Lindsey Halligan, Ed Martin at the (DOJ), as well as other Smithsonian Secretary Bunch III, Smithsonian officials and members of the media. The request includes requests for documentation involving Raven's own artwork and lawsuits, including his case Raven v. Sajet, No. 17-cv-01240 (TNM). The FOIA request targets several interconnected themes: Communications regarding President Trump's removal of Kim Sajet, which occurred in May of 2025, followed by the Board of Regents' silence. Secretary Bunch's and other officials' internal handling of the situation, including correspondence with Sajet, Deputy Secretary Richard Kurin, and others. Discussion of Julian Raven and his previously rejected portrait of Donald Trump, a painting that has figured prominently in earlier litigation. In light of Raven v. Sajet, the FOIA cites Judge Trevor McFadden's 2018 ruling that the Smithsonian Institution is 'government through and through,' thereby binding it to constitutional principles and transparency standards applicable to federal agencies (Case No. 17-cv-1240, U.S. District Court, D.D.C.). Background and Public Interest The request comes in the wake of a series of politically charged events involving the Smithsonian Institution: On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated to a second non-consecutive term as President of the United States. In February 2025, Trump publicly criticized the Smithsonian, citing 'ideological bias' and diversity-related initiatives. In May 2025, Trump announced the removal of Kim Sajet from her position as Director of the National Portrait Gallery, calling her 'highly partisan.' Despite the move, the Board of Regents and its Secretary Lonnie Bunch III in a closed session, declared they he and they are alone responsible for hiring and firing. The same week Kim Sajet tendered her resignation on June 13th, 2025. Raven, in response, on June filed an emergency petition on June 20th for rehearing at the U.S. Supreme Court regarding his formerly denied petition for cert that requested clarification on the legal entity status of the Smithsonian Institution as he pursued the vindication of his 1st Amendment free-speech rights. The situation has prompted renewed media coverage from outlets including The Washington Post, ABC News, The Raw Story, The Guardian, and The Week, where Raven has been mentioned for his legal activism and the controversial portrait that was never accepted by the National Portrait Gallery. Legal, Policy, and Ethical Implications The FOIA request may shine light on lingering questions about: The Smithsonian Institution's legal entity status How $700 Million of tax payer appropriations influence a Smithsonian FOIA request Whether the Board of Regents took formal action or gave informal advice regarding Sajet's status after the President's directive. The extent of political activity and advocacy within the Smithsonian leadership. Next Steps and Public Access to Board of Regent's meetings that for now are closed to the public A full copy of the FOIA request is available upon request or can. be seen at Raven has indicated that he is prepared to pursue litigation under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B) if the Smithsonian fails to respond Julian Raven Julian Raven Artist email us here Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Smithsonian faces an existential crisis. The world is watching.
When the National Portrait Gallery was created by an act of Congress in 1962, the authorizing legislation defined portraiture as 'painted or sculptured likenesses.' And when it referred to the future directors of that museum, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution, it was with exclusively male pronouns. 'His appointment and salary,' the text read, would be fixed by the Smithsonian's Board of Regents. Fourteen years later, Congress amended the original legislation to widen the definition of portraiture to include photographs and 'reproductions thereof made by any means or processes.' As the NPG built its collection and expanded its mission, it was clear that there were many Americans who would never have their images painted or sculpted — mainly Americans who weren't White, male and wealthy — yet were nonetheless essential to the story of America, its history and culture. Kim Sajet, who became the first woman to lead the NPG in 2013, was hired to continue what that amending legislation did in 1976. She expanded the definition of portraiture and widened the scope of people considered worthy of representation in the nation's portrait gallery. Visitors now encounter painted portraits, photographs, ink-jet prints, sculpture, videos, assemblage pieces, paper cutouts and videos. Women, people of color and those who identify as LGBT are more regularly seen in the museum's galleries. Last week, President Donald Trump attempted to fire Sajet, continuing an assault on the leadership of top cultural institutions that has led to the dismissal of Deborah Rutter, the first woman to lead the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; and Carla Hayden, the first woman to lead the Library of Congress. Trump offered no substantial reason for Sajet's dismissal, using only a variation on his all-purpose denunciation of leaders he doesn't like: She is, he said in a Truth Social posting, 'a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI.' When she was hired, the Smithsonian celebrated Sajet's broad cultural range and diverse roots as a Dutch citizen born in Nigeria, educated in Australia and with deep professional roots in U.S. cultural organizations. Efforts to caricature her tenure as partisan or obsessed with diversity or identity issues can't be squared with her track record of traditional programming and collection building, which included acquiring the oldest photograph of an American president (an 1843 daguerreotype of John Quincy Adams) and exhibitions such as the rock-solid 2023 survey of colonialism, '1898: U.S. Imperial Visions and Revisions.' It's not clear that Trump has the authority to dismiss Sajet, and a Smithsonian spokesman said 'we have no comment at this time' when asked whether she is still the museum's director. Despite receiving federal funds, the Smithsonian is independent of the executive branch, and its museum directors are hired by the Board of Regents. But Trump's effort to oust Sajet presents the Smithsonian with an existential crisis: If the president succeeds in removing a key leader who is not accused of any professional or personal misconduct, he will effectively gain control over the content and mission of the entire Smithsonian. This also presents a critical leadership test for the Smithsonian's secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch III, who is negotiating potentially devastating budget cuts from Congress, including zero funding for the forthcoming National Museum of the American Latino. If Sajet's status as head of the NPG becomes a negotiating chit, then everything the Smithsonian does — including its commitment to telling the truth about history, science and art — will be negotiable. The Smithsonian has a long and sadly craven history of caving to critics, including making changes to exhibitions after pressure from activists and members of Congress. Former Smithsonian secretary G. Wayne Clough censored an NPG exhibition of portraiture featuring LGBT people in 2010, after pressure from conservative Christian activists. Clough forced museum curators to remove a single video, by the gay artist and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz, which actually made the exhibition more popular when it traveled to Brooklyn and Tacoma, Washington. The precedent for that intrusion on editorial independence had been established at least since 1995, when the National Air and Space Museum censored an exhibition about the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb. The Enola Gay controversy, which centered on some veterans' opposition to an evenhanded curatorial discussion of why the bomb was dropped and whether it was necessary, damaged the institution, but it also helped foster widespread and lasting resistance to censorship and content meddling throughout the organization. But those examples were mere brush fires compared with the destruction that would follow a new precedent, the right of the president of the United States to dictate hiring and content. Trump's ongoing efforts to assert control over the performing arts, museum sector and the larger American historical narrative have been audacious and destructive. Subscriptions sales at the Kennedy Center are down some 36 percent from last year, and community arts and humanities groups around the country are suffering from the loss of small but essential grants from organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Unlike previous scuffles with Congress, which involved particular exhibitions and were limited to a few controversial subjects, Trump is using his anti-DEI agenda as a master key to exert transformative power over the Smithsonian. If successful, he won't stop with the removal of Sajet, who was hired because Smithsonian leaders and the nation at large were once committed to telling a richer, more inclusive story of the American people. The Smithsonian is currently seeking a new director for the American Art Museum and will need to find one for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, as well. If Sajet is removed, that will be a third major post to fill. What qualified, respected museum leader would take these jobs knowing that Trump has final say over exhibitions, hiring and publications? Throughout the past four months, people tracking the administration's attack on the federal arts and culture infrastructure have periodically wondered, is this the moment of truth? Will the latest executive order or social media post from the president determine the future and independence of the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, the Smithsonian, the National Park Service, the Institute for Museum and Library Services? Is this the tipping point from mere chaos and destruction into genuine authoritarian control? On Monday, the Smithsonian Board of Regents will hold one of its four annual regularly scheduled meetings, and Sajet's future is almost certain to be one of the main subjects under debate. It will be tempting for the regents to attempt some kind of compromise, find some middle road that appeases the president and preserves the Smithsonian from further harm. But there are no good options, only worse ones. A direct confrontation between the Smithsonian and Trump would probably lead to a protracted battle in Congress and perhaps the courts. But compromise measures, such as reassigning Sajet to some other Smithsonian position, might only embolden Trump for further, even more destructive attacks. There is no middle road. Appeasement won't work. The fate of the Smithsonian is now in the hands of Bunch and the regents, and the precedent they set will reverberate throughout every institution in America that, like the Smithsonian, is dedicated to the 'increase and diffusion of knowledge.'
New York Times
13-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Trump Administration Live Updates: Judge Pauses State Dept. Plans for Mass Layoffs
Kim Sajet, the first woman to lead the National Portrait Gallery, resigned in the aftermath of President Trump's announcement that she was fired. Kim Sajet, the director of the National Portrait Gallery whom President Trump announced he was firing last month, is stepping down, explaining in a statement on Friday that she thought her decision was in the best interests of the institution. This week the Smithsonian Institution, which oversees the museum and has long operated as independent of the executive branch, reiterated that it retains the legal authority over personnel including Ms. Sajet, whom the president had criticized as partisan. The White House had created a list of grievances that it suggested made Ms. Sajet an inappropriate choice to lead a national museum, including public comments about racial and gender inequality in America. Ms. Sajet did not discuss the president or his remarks in her statement, which was included in an email sent to the staff by Lonnie G. Bunch III, the Smithsonian 's secretary. 'This was not an easy decision, but I believe it is the right one,' she said. 'From the very beginning, my guiding principle has been to put the museum first. Today, I believe that stepping aside is the best way to serve the institution I hold so deeply in my heart.' In his email, Mr. Bunch said: 'We thank Kim for her service. She put the needs of the Institution above her own, and for that we thank her.' The Smithsonian receives two-thirds of its $1 billion in annual funding from the federal government. Kevin Gover, the Smithsonian's under secretary for museums and culture, will serve as the National Portrait Gallery's acting director. The White House did not react this week when the Smithsonian made clear that its secretary held the authority over personnel decisions, but it responded quickly on Friday to the news that Ms. Sajet had stepped down. 'On Day 1, President Trump made clear that there is no place for dangerous anti-American ideology in our government and institutions,' Davis R. Ingle, a spokesman for the president, said in a statement. In alignment 'with this objective, he ordered the termination of Kim Sajet,' the statement continued. 'The Trump administration is committed to restoring American greatness and celebrating our nation's proud history.' The Smithsonian's Board of Regents, which governs the institution's 21 museums as well as libraries, research centers and the National Zoo, appears to have taken the issues raised by the president seriously even as it challenged his authority to fire Ms. Sajet. In reiterating its autonomy this week, the institution also said in a statement that it was committed to presenting its scholarship 'free from political or partisan influence.' In an email to staff this week, Mr. Bunch agreed to evaluate 'the need for any changes to policies, procedures or personnel.' 'While the vast majority of our content is rooted in meticulous research and thoughtful analysis of history and facts,' he wrote, 'we recognize that, on occasion, some of our work has not aligned with our institutional values of scholarship, even-handedness and nonpartisanship. For that, we must all work to do better.' Private cultural institutions do not typically have litmus tests for the political leanings of their directors, and Mr. Bunch did not provide any examples of work that he considered partisan. But Mr. Trump's announcement prompted questions of whether national museums, funded largely by the federal government, needed to be conspicuously neutral in their handling of hot-button political issues. Sally Yerkovich, a museum specialist at Columbia University, said Ms. Sajet's departure risked having an unwelcome chilling effect on the work of museums, which should be based on independent research. 'It can't help but make other museums pause and think twice about what they are doing,' she said. Leaders of cultural organizations have been closely watching the situation at the National Portrait Gallery, as the Trump administration displays a pronounced interest in influencing the arts in Washington in ways that were rarely apparent during his first term. In a recent executive order, the president called on Vice President JD Vance, who sits on the Board of Regents, to overhaul the Smithsonian with the help of Congress. In his order, the president described a 'revisionist movement' across the country that 'seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.' And at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts — where the president was greeted with cheers and boos at a performance of 'Les Miserables' this week — Mr. Trump took over as chairman of the board, with one of his allies appointed as the institution's interim president. In the case of Ms. Sajet, Mr. Trump had called her 'a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position.' He also said her replacement would be named 'shortly.' The Smithsonian board has given every indication that the institution's secretary would be making that choice. The White House's list of grievances describes Ms. Sajet as partisan, citing examples such as her remarks at a 2018 'race and justice summit' that 'the 'portrait of America' has never been only about meritocracy but also social access, racial inequality, gender difference, religious preference and political power.' Ms. Sajet appeared to refer to her efforts to broaden the portrait of America during her tenure in her statement on Friday. 'Together,' she said, 'we have worked to tell a fuller, more American story — one that fosters connection, reflection and understanding.' Image The headquarters of the Smithsonian Institution, known as 'The Castle.' It is currently closed for renovations. Credit... Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images Samuel J. Redman, professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said Ms. Sajet had done much to modernize a museum collection that had been 'very much based on the great white man orientation.' 'This is a disappointing outcome,' he said. 'Kim Sajet did a tremendous job in widening the view of what portraiture is and how the National Portrait Gallery should reflect the varieties of the American experience.' Ms. Sajet, 60, was the first woman to run the National Portrait Gallery. Born in Nigeria, raised in Australia and a citizen of the Netherlands, she earned a master's degree in art history at Bryn Mawr College; a master's degree in business administration at Melbourne University Business School in Australia; a bachelor's degree, also in art history, at Melbourne University; and a degree in museum studies from Deakin University in Australia. She also completed arts leadership training at the Harvard Business School, the Getty and National Arts Strategies. She served first as curator and then the director of two Australian art museums from 1989 until 1995. From 1998 until 2001, Ms. Sajet was the director of corporate relations at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and then spent seven years as senior vice president and deputy director of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. There she became more widely known in the museum world for helping arrange the joint $68 million purchase of Thomas Eakins's painting 'The Gross Clinic.' She then served for six years as president and chief executive at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania before taking on the Smithsonian role in 2013. The Smithsonian's 17-member Board of Regents includes six congressional appointees. Nine 'citizen' members are nominated by the board and appointed for a six-year term by a joint resolution signed by the president. The vice president and chief justice of the United States are also on the board by virtue of their positions. The president has proposed to Congress a 12 percent cut to the Smithsonian's budget, which would affect other museums under its umbrella, such as the planned National Museum of the American Latino and the Anacostia Community Museum. Zachary Small contributed reporting.
The Guardian
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Director of National Portrait Gallery resigns after Trump's effort to fire her
The director of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet, has resigned just two weeks after Donald Trump attempted to fire her and accused her of being 'highly partisan and a strong supporter of DEI'. 'We thank Kim for her service. Her decision to put the museum first is to be applauded and appreciated. I know this was not an easy decision. She put the needs of the Institution above her own, and for that we thank her,' Lonnie Bunch, the Smithsonian secretary, wrote in a Friday internal email that was obtained by multiple outlets. 'We are grateful to Kim for leading the National Portrait Gallery with passion and creativity for 12 years. Throughout her tenure, she has reimagined and reshaped the impact and storytelling of portraiture.' The announcement comes after the Smithsonian Institution earlier this week rebuffed Trump's attempt to fire Sajet, with the museum's governing board asserting its independence and turning away the president's claim of authority over the institution's staffing. Trump announced on 30 May that he had fired Sajet, calling her a 'highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position'. His attack focused, among other reasons, on her Democratic political donations and her rejection of a pro-Trump painting by artist Julian Raven. Sajet reportedly told Raven his artwork was 'too pro-Trump' and 'too political' for the gallery, the artist told the Washingtonian in 2019. In a statement on Monday, the Smithsonian's board of regents declared that 'all personnel decisions are made by and subject to the direction of the secretary, with oversight by the board'. The statement did not name Sajet or mention the Trump administration directly. Following Trump's announcement, Sajet continued reporting to work throughout early June, creating a direct confrontation between the White House and the Smithsonian Institution – the country's flagship cultural institution that has a 178-year-old governance structure built against political interference. Appointed in 2013, Sajet became the National Portrait Gallery's first woman director. Kevin Gover, undersecretary for museums and culture, has replaced her as acting director of the museum. In a statement shared by the internal memo on Friday, Sajet said it had been 'the honor of a lifetime to lead the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery'. 'This was not an easy decision, but I believe it is the right one,' she wrote. 'From the very beginning, my guiding principle has been to put the museum first. Today, I believe that stepping aside is the best way to serve the institution I hold so deeply in my heart. 'The role of a museum director has never been about one individual – it is a shared mission, driven by the passion, creativity, and dedication of an extraordinary team.' A statement from White House spokesperson David Ingle reads: 'On day one, President Trump made clear that there is no place for dangerous anti-American ideology in our government and institutions. 'In align with this objective, he ordered the termination of Kim Sajet. The Trump Administration is committed to restoring American greatness and celebrating our nation's proud history.'
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump says he fired museum director as his budget targets Smithsonian
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has fired the director of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet, whom he called 'highly partisan.' The dismissal marks the first action Trump has taken against the Smithsonian Institution since an executive order he signed earlier this year that promised to eliminate 'divisive narratives' and 'anti-American ideology' from the museum and research body, which is partially funded by the federal government. 'Upon the request and recommendation of many people, I am herby terminating the employment of Kim Sajet as Director of the National Portrait Gallery,' Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. 'She is a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position. Her replacement will be named shortly.' Hours after Trump's post, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III told staff that the White House also sent new details of proposed cuts to the Smithsonian's budget, in an email obtained by The Washington Post. The president's request to Congress proposed a 12 percent reduction of the institution's budget and excluded funding for its Anacostia Community Museum and its forthcoming National Museum of the American Latino, Bunch said. It is unclear if the president has authority to dismiss Sajet. The Smithsonian's programming is not under the purview of the executive branch, and personnel decisions for senior-level Smithsonian museum positions are made by Bunch. Neither the museum, the institution nor the White House immediately responded to a request for comment. Thomas Berry, the director of the Cato Institute's center for constitutional studies, said presidents have the authority to hire and fire top officials in the executive branch who then have the powers to make their own hiring and firing decisions, with the understanding that they could lose their jobs if the president is not satisfied with their decisions. 'The shorthand for this that is often used as a good rule of thumb is that the power to fire goes to whoever has the power to appoint,' Berry said. In the National Portrait Gallery's case, top personnel decisions are made by the Smithsonian's secretary, who is appointed by the board of regents. The National Portrait Gallery, established in 1962 by an act of Congress, houses portraits of distinguished Americans, including every president. Its collection includes more than 26,000 works. An independent institution, the Smithsonian has operated as a public-private partnership since 1846, with the federal government covering about 62 percent of its expenses. On March 27, the president issued an executive order titled 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,' which aims to 'restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness.' A 35-year-old special assistant and senior associate staff secretary, Lindsey Halligan, was among the order's architects — instigated, in part, by her early-2025 visit to the show 'The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture,' an exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which shares a building with the Portrait Gallery. The order calls for Halligan and Vice President JD Vance to 'remove improper ideology' from the Smithsonian and 'prohibit expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race.' Trump's unprecedented order was foreshadowed by a Nov. 25 Wall Street Journal opinion piece co-written by the Heritage Foundation's Mike Gonzalez, one of the contributors to Project 2025, which called for the president to 'retake control' of the Smithsonian's museums. The institution, Gonzalez wrote, had 'forsaken their mission of spreading knowledge and instead are trying to 'decolonize' society.' Sajet, who formerly served as president and chief executive of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, was selected to lead the Portrait Gallery in 2013 — becoming the first woman to serve in the role. As director, Sajet has focused on diversifying the gallery's collection and programming by acquiring works that reflected a broader range of artists and subjects and integrating Spanish into the museum's communications strategy. In 2017, she was the first Smithsonian director to name a choreographer-in-residence to create dance performances based on the museum's exhibitions. She also hosted the museum's 'Portraits' podcast series, now in its sixth season, to engage the public with conversations about art, history and identity. Sajet was 'fair minded, and interested in all kinds of projects,' says a former National Portrait Gallery historian who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of professional repercussions. 'I've never thought of her as politically motivated.' Born in Nigeria, Sajet is a citizen of the Netherlands who has worked in the United States for 30 years. 'A big part of my job [at the Historical Society] was being able to talk about American identity and what this amazing country has done,' Sajet told The Washington Post in 2013. 'Americans sometimes forget how much they are observed by other people around the world. I'm looking forward to reminding people of the larger global context. It's something the Smithsonian values.' On Saturday, the Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum plan to host their family Pride festival. Meryl Kornfield contributed reporting to this report.
