NEW YORK (AP) — A White House report brands the leadership of the Smithsonian Institution, especially at the National Museum of American History, as radical activists who cannot be trusted, indicating that President Donald Trump may be preparing to install his own team.
The report released late on Independence Day by the White House Domestic Policy Council comes in the midst of Trump’s aggressive campaign to overhaul some of Washington's most sacred cultural and historic institutions. Trump in March revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targeted funding for programs that advanced “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology,” as he continued a broadside against culture he deems too liberal.
"The Smithsonian Institution, and the National Museum of American History in particular, under its current leadership and current interpretive ideology, cannot be trusted to tell America’s story honestly and in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic,” according to the report by the council, which is led by a former top Trump speechwriter.
The authors added: “As this report shows, confirmed in the words of Museum leadership, this ideological capture has moved the Museum’s mission away from straightforward historical education and scholarship toward an extreme political activism that seeks to transform our country.”
The Smithsonian did not immediately respond to requests for comment Sunday.
Historian Lonnie Bunch, the Smithsonian's current secretary, is the first African American to lead the institution. In an unrelated interview that aired Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press,” Bunch said “the notion of being a more perfect union, not the perfect union, is really what motivates me.”
“I think what I want people to understand is that there is a responsibility to continue to make those aspirations available, accessible, meaningful to a whole range of people,” Bunch said. “And that, in essence, America’s greatest strength, it’s not running away from its history, but it’s understanding how that history shaped us and continues to shape us.”
Historian Anthea M. Hartig is the first woman to serve as director of National Museum of American History.
Trump's escalating effort to force changes at the Smithsonian marks the Republican president's latest move to transform cultural pillars of society, such as universities and art, that he considers out of step with conservative sensibilities. Trump had himself installed as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the aim of overhauling programming, and his handpicked board voted to add his name to the building, only to have a federal judge later order the signage to be removed.
The administration also forced Columbia University to make a series of policy changes by threatening the Ivy League school with the loss of several hundred million dollars in federal funding.
Trump has also imposed changes on historical sites beyond Washington, including in Philadelphia, where the administration won a court ruling last week allowing it to reinstall interpretive panels that critics say whitewash the history of slavery at the site of President George Washington’s home. Advocates, academics and officials have been concerned for months that the version that complies with Trump’s order could give a history that plays down the pain in the nation’s past in favor of a more triumphant view.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Pa., accused Trump and his allies of trying to “rewrite history."
“There’s not one individual narrative that a president gets about our history,” Shapiro, a potential presidential prospect, said in an interview that aired Sunday on CNN's “State of the Union.” “And any president should want to make sure that that full history is shared, that the American people are able to draw their own conclusions.”
Shapiro added, “If we understand where we came from, we’re going to have a better path forward."
Trump's Domestic Policy Council does not necessarily agree.
The National Museum of American History "confronts visitors with materials intended to undermine faith in American institutions and the longstanding shared ideals of the American people,” the council's report said. “We must be committed to restoring truth and sanity in how American history is presented and taught.”
In seeking to fulfill Trump's order, which he called “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” the review concluded by finding that the museum “by the intention and at the direction of current Museum and Smithsonian leadership, has become subject to institutional capture by a radical, activist ideology that is fundamentally opposed to telling the noble, honest story of the great country we know and love.”
FILE - Anthea Hartig, of the National Museum of American History, speaks at an event, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)
FILE - Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie Bunch speaks at an event, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)
FILE - The Smithsonian Museum of American History is pictured on the National Mall in Washington, April 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
SEATTLE (AP) — Rookie Camden Brown had two touchdown catches, including a diving, one-handed snag, to help lead the Dallas Cowboys past the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks 17-7 on Saturday night in the preseason opener for both team.
Brown caught a 39-yard pass from Sam Howell in the second quarter to put Dallas up 10-7. On the first drive of the third quarter, Brown snared a 2-yard fade from Joe Milton in the back left corner of the end zone.
“Really good day," said Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer. "He’s got to keep stacking them, but he’s been doing it.”
An undrafted free agent who started his career at Auburn before transferring to Georgia Southern, Brown has stood out throughout training camp. The 6-foot-2, 204-pound wide receiver has made good use of his frame, and demonstrated on Saturday he can also do so in an NFL game.
“The game’s not too big for him,” Schottenheimer said. “He does it every day in practice, we see it all the time."
Milton, who's entering his third pro season and second with Dallas, was impressive in his bid to be the Cowboys’ backup quarterback behind Dak Prescott. The 2024 sixth-round draft pick completed six of his first eight passes against the Seahawks' backup cornerbacks, and finished 12 of 15 for 107 yards and the TD to Brown.
Howell, who is competing with Milton for the Cowboys' No. 2 job, was 8 of 12 for 94 yards and his touchdown pass to Brown.
“They just hung in there and made the throws when they had to make them," Schottenheimer said about his quarterbacks, “and they were both very efficient.”
With Sam Darnold sitting out, Seattle rotated its backup quarterbacks throughout the night. Drew Lock led the Seahawks on a 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive to open the game. It was capped by a 5-yard touchdown catch by Montorie Foster Jr.
“It was a tight window, too," Foster said. "Shoutout to Drew. On that plant, I knew the ball was going to be right there. So, I was just ready for it.”
Brandon Aubrey converted a 29-yard field goal to cut Seattle’s lead to 7-3 early in the second quarter. The Seahawks responded with a 15-play drive, but Jason Myers pushed a 45-yard attempt wide right before Brown caught his first touchdown pass.
Jalen Milroe, currently entrenched as Seattle’s third-string quarterback, was 5 of 8 for 36 yards. Lock was 9 of 13 for 40 yards and a touchdown.
Cowboys running back Jaydon Blue, who is competing with Phil Mafah to be Javonte Williams’ backup, was stifled by Seattle’s defense. Blue had 19 yards on eight carries.
George Holani, one of the few healthy Seahawks running backs, paced Seattle with 12 carries for 42 yards. Zach Charbonnet, Emanuel Wilson and 2026 first-round pick Jadarian Price – all of whom could be options for Seattle this season at running back – sat out with injuries.
Tyrice Knight led the Seahawks with 10 tackles, all in the first half. Knight, who has 145 tackles over the last two seasons, is pleased with his progress since the Seahawks selected in the fourth round in 2024.
“Probably the biggest step for me is just being more decisive," Knight said. "Just like how I was more (decisive) at UTEP, bringing that same game to the NFL and then just playing downhill more and being ahead of the play.”
Curtis Robinson paced the Cowboys with eight tackles.
Foster had a team-high five catches for 36 yards for Seattle. Malik Davis ran for 39 yards on seven carries for Dallas.
Seattle’s Rashad Rochelle had a 52-yard punt return in the third quarter.
The teams combined for 21 penalties and 174 penalty yards
Milroe, who was a college teammate of Terrion Arnold for three seasons at Alabama, supported Seattle’s decision to enter an agreement with the cornerback. Arnold is facing eight felony charges stemming from allegations he orchestrated the abduction and beating of three men in February.
“That’s my dog. I’m very happy that he’s going to be a Seahawk," Milroe said. "I think now, it’s just showing him the way of how we do things. And, that’s the move-forward process.”
Seahawks: Tackle Amari Kight (leg) left in the second quarter and put ice on his lower leg on the sideline. Edge rusher Jared Ivey went into the injury tent in the third quarter, but returned.
Cowboys: Mafah (chest) exited in the third quarter and was ruled out. Schottenheimer said he talked with Mafah postgame, and that he is OK.
Cowboys: At Arizona on Aug. 22.
Seahawks: At Tennessee on Aug. 23.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton III (10) runs the ball as Seattle Seahawks cornerback Michael Dansby (37) attempts to make the stop in the second half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Camden Brown (6), Michael Trigg (46) and others celebrate Brown's touchdown catch in the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Camden Brown, center, catches a touchdown pass as Seattle Seahawks' Shemar Jean-Charles, left, and AJ Finley (30) defend in the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Camden Brown (6) catches a touchdown pass in front of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Michael Dansby in the second half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Camden Brown (6) catches a touchdown pass in front of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Michael Dansby, rear, in the second half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
