The Smithsonian has relied on more than $1 billion a year in taxpayer funding in recent years even as its leadership and exhibits face mounting scrutiny over DEI priorities and ideological portrayals of American history.
The sprawling institution oversees 21 museums, the National Zoo and nearly 157 million objects and specimens, making it the world’s largest museum, education and research complex. President Donald Trump’s proposed budget reductions have made its federal funding a central pressure point in the administration's broader effort to reshape the taxpayer-supported institution.
Since the White House released a July 2026 report accusing the Smithsonian Institution of advancing DEI and left-wing agendas, Fox News Digital has documented multiple examples. Most recently, the Smithsonian’s America 250 exhibit featured roughly three times as many items highlighting liberal figures and causes as conservative ones, prompting criticism that it presented an ideologically imbalanced account of American history.
Other examples included the Smithsonian's promotion of a museum training guide that linked concepts such as objectivity and merit to "white dominant culture," a program the institution later apologized for after public backlash.
Meanwhile, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III has faced scrutiny after saying DEI "must be at the center" of museum institutions, while receiving more than $4.4 million in salary and benefits from 2020 through 2024.
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The White House's proposed funding reduction follows a months-long, Trump-directed review that culminated in a 162-page White House report recommending sweeping reforms and additional executive action.
Although the Smithsonian also receives private donations, grants and other funding sources, the institution has relied on more than $1 billion annually in taxpayer funds in recent years.
With taxpayer dollars at stake, the institution's budget has become a central front in the Trump administration's broader debate over how the Smithsonian presents American history.
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The charts below break down how the Smithsonian's federal funding has changed over time, where the money would go and which museums receive the largest share of taxpayer support.
A Fox News Digital analysis of Smithsonian budget requests shows the institution sought increasingly larger federal appropriations during the Biden administration, with annual requests climbing from $960 million in fiscal 2019 to a record $1.24 billion in fiscal 2024.
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After requesting more than $1 billion in fiscal year 2025, the Trump administration proposed budgets below that threshold for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, the first such requests since fiscal year 2020.
While the overall budget has fluctuated over the years, the bulk of the Smithsonian's federal funding is dedicated to keeping the institution operating day to day.
The Smithsonian's budget is less about new exhibits than keeping the institution running.
Of the nearly $960 million federal budget request, a little more than $524 million funds the Smithsonian's day-to-day operations, including staff, security, facilities and technology.
Another $310 million finances museum activity and research, while the rest supports building improvements, planning and oversight.
Not all Smithsonian museums receive the same level of taxpayer support.
The National Museum of Natural History tops the 2026 funding requests at $51 million, followed by the National Museum of the American Indian at nearly $35 million. Meanwhile, the National Zoo receives about $34 million in funding, while the National Museum of American History accounts for $27 million.
With nearly $1 billion in proposed federal funding at stake, the Smithsonian has become more than just a network of museums. It is now a focal point in the broader fight over how American history is told and whether taxpayer dollars should support those narratives.
The Smithsonian Institute did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
