GOP lawmaker demands answers after Smithsonian chief urged moving beyond 'America First mentality'
Mike Carey, R-Ohio, grilled Smithsonian leadership at a hearing on Wednesday on why the National Museum of American History (NMAH) had dropped mention of "American history" from its mission statement in"You explained that the museum removed the phrase ‘American history’ from the mission statement in order to help people ‘to get out of the America-first mentality,’ Carey said, posing his question to Anthea Hartig, NMAH administrator."What did you mean by America-first?" he asked.Carey’s line of questioning, made during a Committee on House Administration hearing on Wednesday, comes as Republicans in Congress have made preserving America’s heritage a proxy for larger struggles over national identity and cultural values.'THE VIEW' CO-HOST WHINES SMITHSONIAN HEARINGS ARE ABOUT TRUMP ADMINISTRATION NOT WANTING TO PAY REPARATIONSProgressive thinkers, such as Hartig, have argued that keeping the darker parts of American history in view should inform an understanding of the country’s past — and help set its policy direction in the present.In response, many Republican lawmakers have voiced deep unrest over efforts to characterize the U.S. as marked by oppression or slavery — such as the New York Times’ 1619 Project.
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Mike Carey, R-Ohio, grilled Smithsonian leadership at a hearing on Wednesday on why the National Museum of American History (NMAH) had dropped mention of "American history" from its mission statement in"You explained that the museum removed the phrase ‘American history’ from the mission statement in order to help people ‘to get out of the America-first mentality,’ Carey said, posing his question to Anthea Hartig, NMAH administrator."What did you mean by America-first?" he asked.Carey’s line of questioning, made during a Committee on House Administration hearing on Wednesday, comes as Republicans in Congress have made preserving America’s heritage a proxy for larger struggles over national identity and cultural values.'THE VIEW' CO-HOST WHINES SMITHSONIAN HEARINGS ARE ABOUT TRUMP ADMINISTRATION NOT WANTING TO PAY REPARATIONSProgressive thinkers, such as Hartig, have argued that keeping the darker parts of American history in view should inform an understanding of the country’s past — and help set its policy direction in the present.In response, many Republican lawmakers have voiced deep unrest over efforts to characterize the U.S. as marked by oppression or slavery — such as the New York Times’ 1619 Project. Many conservatives have argued that the American ideals, laid out in documents like the Declaration of Independence, transcend even the country’s most blatant failures to live up to those aspirations; that they are anything but definitive of the American experience.The conversation has also taken on a new focus in President Donald Trump’s second term as the administration has pulled out all the stops in celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary.With calls to "Make America great again" and put "America first," the administration released a report called "Saving America’s Story."That report highlighted the American History Museum’s decision to change its mission statement and called out Hartig specifically.SPEAKER JOHNSON WARNS STUDENTS ARE 'INDOCTRINATED' TO SEE US THROUGH 'WRONG LENSES' AS NATION CELEBRATES 250TH"That shift from history to activism is clearly documented in this report. Anthea Hartig, NMAH’s director since 2019, has explicitly stated that she sees history as a ‘prime tool of social justice’ and one of her roles as connecting ‘research and scholarship to activism and advocacy,’" the report stated.The report also details how Hartig had explained the change to NMAH's mission statement in a 2024 presentation to a group of undergraduate and graduate history students."It’s hard to get out of the ‘America First’ mentality ...It’s just that, and why we changed our mission when I first came," Hartig said.
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- Mike Carey, R-Ohio, grilled Smithsonian leadership at a hearing on Wednesday on why the National Museum of American History (NMAH) had dropped mention of "American history" from its mission statement in"You explained that the museum removed the phrase ‘American history’ from the mission statement in order to help people ‘to get out of the America-first mentality,’ Carey said, posing his question to Anthea Hartig, NMAH administrator."What did you mean by America-first?" he asked.Carey’s line of questioning, made during a Committee on House Administration hearing on Wednesday, comes as Republicans in Congress have made preserving America’s heritage a proxy for larger struggles over national identity and cultural values.'THE VIEW' CO-HOST WHINES SMITHSONIAN HEARINGS ARE ABOUT TRUMP ADMINISTRATION NOT WANTING TO PAY REPARATIONSProgressive thinkers, such as Hartig, have argued that keeping the darker parts of American history in view should inform an understanding of the country’s past — and help set its policy direction in the present.In response, many Republican lawmakers have voiced deep unrest over efforts to characterize the U.S. as marked by oppression or slavery — such as the New York Times’ 1619 Project.
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GOP lawmaker demands answers after Smithsonian chief urged moving beyond 'America First mentality'
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