Kim Sajet, the director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., was still coming to work earlier this week—even after Donald Trump said he fired her last Friday.
Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that he was ousting Sajet for being a “strong supporter of DEI,” without providing further clarification about what that meant. The Smithsonian Institution, a network of museums that operates the National Portrait Gallery, has yet to issue a statement about Trump’s comments on Sajet.
This week, however, the Washington Post revealed the Trump administration’s reasoning for seeking to oust Sajet. A White House official provided the Post with a 17-point list of what the administration described as times Sajet spoke or acted in ways critical of Trump.
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One of those times involved the exhibition of a portrait of Trump that bore a caption referring to his two impeachments, as well as his “incitement of insurrection” on January 6, 2021. The White House reportedly also singled out Sajet’s donations to Democratic causes and noted interviews in which she mentioned wanting to expand the diversity of the museum’s offerings, including one with USA Today in 2019 in which she said, “I’m not interested in only having a museum for some people.”
The White House has yet to demonstrate how Trump has the power to fire Sajet, and even did not respond to the New York Times this week when asked to do so. Trump does not sit on the board of the Smithsonian, which does include some members nominated by the president. J.D. Vance, Trump’s vice president, is on the board with ex officio status, as is the Chief Justice of the United States.
Two Democratic members of the House of Representatives—House Administration Committee ranking Democrat Joseph Morelle of New York and House Appropriations Committee ranking Democrat Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut have issued a statement in which they said Trump has “no authority” to fire Sajet. “The dismissal of Director Sajet is unacceptable and has the same legal weight as the President’s prior attempts to undermine the Smithsonian’s independence: absolutely none,” they wrote.
How the Smithsonian will respond remains an open question. Gary Peters, a Democratic senator representing Michigan who sits on the Smithsonian’s board, told the Post that he and the other board members “will discuss the issue further” at its next meeting on Monday. He added, “Clearly, the president has no authority whatsoever to fire her.”
The National Portrait Gallery is one of many museums managed by the Smithsonian, whose network also includes the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, all in Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian also manages a few museums outside D.C., including the National Museum of the American Indian, which operates a New York branch in addition a D.C. one.
Trump has previously targeted the Smithsonian in the form of an executive order in which he accused its museums of putting forward “improper ideology” via “exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values.” That executive order singled out shows at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
