A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
Punchier Headlines, Please
The involvement of any White House in the content of the Smithsonian Institution crosses a critical line of politicization, let alone this White House, in this moment with its expressed intent of white-washing American history by minimizing references to people of color and any past unpleasantness that makes sensitive white people uncomfortable.
Yet major outlets headlined the news of the Trump White House’s new demands on the Smithsonian as if auditors were going in to count toilet paper rolls rather than turning one of America’s national treasures into a tool of MAGA ideology:
- NYT: “White House Announces Comprehensive Review of Smithsonian Exhibitions”
- WaPo: “White House announces more aggressive review of Smithsonian museums”
The WSJ, which first broke the news, was a lot closer to the mark: “White House to Vet Smithsonian Museums to Fit Trump’s Historical Vision.”
I urge you to the read the full letter to the Smithsonian from Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s personal attorney turned White House aide; Vince Haley, director of White House Domestic Policy Council; and Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought. Their demands on the Smithsonian and its member museums are extensive, timed to exert maximum control over exhibits and curatorial decisions around the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence next July.
“This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions,” the letter says.
The egregiousness of the politicization is two-fold. First, this move subverts the normal professional curation process, which is grounded in intellectual honesty, academic study, and the rigorous standards of archival and preservation work. Then, it supplants that framework with an intellectually bankrupt, ideologically driven, sanitized version of American history, art, and culture in service of a white nationalist worldview.
“Museums should begin implementing content corrections where necessary, replacing divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate, and constructive descriptions,” the letter says, providing a time frame for such “corrections” of 120 days.
The real goal, highlighted in bold toward the end of the letter, is to force the Smithsonian to embrace a MAGA-brand of “Americanism” that defines which people, which values, and which events are truly American and discards the rest.
“By focusing on Americanism—the people, principles, and progress that define our nation—we can work together to renew the Smithsonian’s role as the world’s leading museum institution,” the White House letter concludes.
Quote of the Day
“The fact that it moves markets tells you that it’s valuable information, it’s credible information, it’s the best available information at the time that it’s released, and suppressing that information is like gouging out our eyes. It hurts our ability to see what’s happening around us; it forces us into making worse decisions.”–Aaron Sojourner, senior researcher at the non-partisan W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, on the threat to suspend the monthly jobs reports by E.J. Antoni, Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Trump Attack on Higher Ed
- George Washington University: The private university in D.C. is the latest target of the White House’s trumped-up charges of antisemitism on college campuses as a pretext for extorting concessions from higher education institutions. Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, notified GW of the the results of her “investigation” in an Aug. 12 letter and gave it 10 days to respond to her “offer” of a “voluntary resolution agreement”
- UCLA: A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to partially restore some of the UCLA’s frozen federal research funding, a decision that comes as the White House is seeking to extract a $1 billion settlement from the public university ostensibly for antisemitism on campus.
The Retribution: Union-Busting Edition
After favorable court rulings, the Trump administration has begun cancelling union contracts effecting hundreds of thousands of federal workers at the VA, EPA, FEMA, and USCIS.
DOGE Watch: Personal Info Edition
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted an injunction that had prevented DOGE staffers from accessing the personal information of union workers at the Education Department and the Office of Personnel Management.
Arkansas Trans Ban Upheld
The full 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld Arkansas’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors.
New Evidence That CDC Shooter Was Critical of COVID Vax
Authorities further confirmed that the man who fired more than 500 rounds at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Atlanta headquarters and killed a police officer Friday was critical of the COVID vaccine and blamed it for his health problems.
Thread of the Day
Russia Involved in Federal Court Hack
The hack of the federal court filing system at least partially involved Russia, the NYT reports.
2026 Ephemera
OH-Sen: Former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the liberal lion who lost re-election in 2024 to Bernie Moreno (R), has decided to run in the 2026 special election to fill JD Vance’s old Senate seat. Brown, 72, will be taking on Republican Sen. Jon Husted, 57, who was appointed earlier this year by Gov. Mike DeWine (R).
We Did It. Thank You.
The TPM community rallied and together we hit our goal of raising $500,000 for the TPM Journalism Fund. We zoomed past the mark last evening. It took four weeks, which is exactly what we’d set aside for the annual fundraising drive. Nicely done!
In TPM’s 25th year, our finances have never been stronger. We have a robust and sustainable business model that’s not easily replicated elsewhere. It comes down to the TPM community, which has proven itself over and over again to be reliable and unstinting in supporting the journalism we do. We don’t take that for granted. It feels like a special relationship between us every single day.
You can, of course, still contribute to the TPM Journalism Fund or become a TPM member (or both!) any day of the year. But for now, we’re going to back off a little on the active pitching and get back to the journalism that drives everything we do here.
Thanks again.
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