Smithsonian secretary Lonnie Bunch will retire by year's end, 11 days after Interior threatened its funding
He says the timing was personal, not political.
Bunch, the Smithsonian's first Black leader and its secretary since 2019, is leaving after 38 years at the institution, following an Aug. 28 Interior Department letter that threatened to cut federal support over what it called ideological activism.
- 38 years at the Smithsonian, 7 of them as secretary
- Founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Aug. 28, 2026: Interior letter threatens the institution's federal money