The embattled Smithsonian agency, a federally funded network of museums that the Trump administration repeatedly attacked, said it intends to remain open even if the government is approaching the possibility of a midnight shutdown.
“If the federal government shuts down, the Smithsonians will use the funds from the previous year to be open to the public at least Monday, October 6, 2025,” the Museum Network said in a brief statement issued Tuesday night.
Artnews Has been exposed to the National Gallery, which is not run by Smithsonians but is made with federal funds for comment.
It is unclear how the possible layoffs that President Donald Trump during the closure will affect the Smithsonians. “When you close it, you have to do a layoff, and we’re going to lay off a lot of people,” he said earlier today. New York TimesDuring this closure, thousands of government workers may be on leave.
This closure will be the result of the differences between Democrats and Republicans on health care-related issues. Democrats are seeking to remove health care cuts made by Republicans, while Republicans are calling on Democrats to accept their funding program by mid-November.
During the last massive U.S. government shutdown, both the Smithsonian Museum and the National Gallery were closed for a long time in 2019. The closure was conducted under the first Trump administration, resulting in the closure of the exhibition, with Smithsonian employees unpaid. The 2019 closure lasted 35 days, making it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
If the closure takes effect tonight, it could create another obstacle to Smithsonian operations. Earlier this year, Trump began targeting the Smithsonian Museum, who he said was “influenced by executive orders, a racially-centric ideology.” Since then, his administration has repeatedly condemned the dedication of these institutions, even if one time a list of officials released some symbolic officials seemed to disagree. These artworks deal with topics such as migration and cross-rights. His executive order was the resignation before Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery run by Smithsonian, who tried to fire.
