The head of the National Portrait Gallery resigns after Trump says he fired her
Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., will leave her post after President Donald Trump’s social media post, saying he has fired her.
Legal experts and art historians questioned Trump’s ability to fire anyone in the Smithsonian agency, the museum network that runs the National Portrait Gallery. The Smithsonian confirmed its independence this week, saying only changes to its secretary and its board of directors controlled. The board includes Vice President JD Vance.
It seems that Sarget will maintain his position this week. this Washington Post She has reportedly continued to report working as usual at the start of the week, shortly afterwards, after Smithsonian’s statement.
But as of June 13, she has left her National Portrait Gallery director, a position she has held since 2013.
this New York Times Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch has sent an email to employees, including Sajet’s speech, reported Friday. “It was not an easy decision, but I believe it was the right decision,” Sajit said. “From the beginning, my guiding principle has always been to put the museum first. Today, I believe resignation is the best way to serve an institution that I have a deep grasp.”
according to era She did not explicitly mention Trump and his comments on his social media platform Truth Social, the report said. “We thank Kim for her service. She put the needs of the agency on her own, and we thank her for that,” Bunch wrote in a letter to the staff.
In the Truth Society, Trump claimed that Sargeet was “a highly partisan figure and a staunch supporter of Dee, which was totally unsuitable for her position,” without elaborating on the implications of his comments. This week, postal The government claims to have found 17 times, and Sarget was criticized by Trump, both through her programming, in interviews, and in support of diversity, equity and inclusion.
This includes wall text of Trump’s portrait displayed by the National Portrait Gallery. The tag mentions Trump’s two improvisations and his “inciting uprising” on January 6, 2021. USA Today Sajet actively spoke about the efforts to expand black representation in museum portraits and said: “I am not interested in some people only museums.”
Trump had previously targeted the Smithsonian in an executive order to phase out the “improper, divisive or anti-American ideology” of the network’s 21 museums operating alongside libraries, research centers and zoos. The Executive Order is specifically directed at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The executive order was issued on March 27, which means that NMAAHC director Kevin Young has been on vacation for nearly two weeks. Young officially left the museum in April.
“All personnel decisions are supervised by the board of directors and guided by the secretary,” Trump said in his statement this week. In addition, the Smithsonians said it was a “non-partisan organization.”
“To strengthen our non-partisan figure, the Board directs the Secretary to articulate the specific expectations regarding the content of the Smithsonian Museum to the museum director and staff, provide the director with reasonable time to make any necessary changes to ensure unbiased content, and return it to the Board as it progresses, and based on the success or lack of Smith’s changes to make any changes required.
The current government is seeking to fund part of the Smithsonian Network, as the proposed 2026 budget includes the Elimination Program’s Latino National Museum and the currently open Anacostia Community Museum, which was founded in 1967 and focuses on black culture.
When Sajet was appointed in 2013, he became the first woman ever to direct the National Portrait Gallery. Born in Nigeria, she grew up in Australia and received her education in Australia and the United States. She has served in senior positions at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
