The National Museum of the American Latino (NMAL) and the Anacostia Community Museum in Washington, DC, are on the chopping block as the Trump administration targets the Smithsonian Institution.
President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal does not include funding for NMAL nor the Anacostia Community Museum, which opened in 1967 with the vision of expanding outreach to Black residents of the capital city.
If the president’s budget request passes, the Anacostia Community Museum would be dissolved into the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The NMAL would be replaced with programming “throughout the institution” led by a decentralized Smithsonian Latino Center.
However, funding decisions are finalized only by Congress. Members of the Republican-led Congressional Hispanic Conference, including Trump-endorsed Texas representatives Monica De La Cruz and Tony Gonzales, called upon the House and Senate appropriations committees to continue funding the NMAL in a June 6 letter.
“Failing to adequately display their place in American history through a dedicated and statutorily required Museum is unacceptable,” the statement read, referring to the Latino community. The Democratic Congressional Hispanic Caucus has not yet responded to Hyperallergic’s multiple requests for comment.
Still without a permanent space, NMAL has operated out of a 4,500-square-foot gallery within the National Museum of American History since 2022. Congress approved the museum in 2020, alongside the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, as part of a $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus package that was signed into law by President Trump during his first term. A previous bill to establish a national Latino museum was blocked by Senate Republicans.
“NMAL is a full-fledged museum,” the Smithsonian spokesperson said. “It has raised approximately $70 million in private support for its development, collected and accessioned over 250 objects, visited over 50 communities to gather the stories and themes for the museum, hired staff across all pillars critical to the building of a world-class museum, and launched a national membership program.” It is unclear what would happen to the museum’s collection or resources if the budget passes.
The Anacostia Community Museum is currently showing an exhibition on 20th-century Black arts educators in DC.
In documents submitted to the House and Senate appropriations committees, the Smithsonian requested about $130.7 million less than the $1.09 billion it received last year and excluded NAML and the Anacostia Community Museum from its funding breakdown, aligning with Trump’s budget proposal.
Establishing a Latino museum has been a nearly three-decade effort that has encountered significant opposition from some conservatives. In 2023, Republicans attempted to prevent tax dollars from reaching the Latino museum in reaction to its inaugural exhibition ¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States. The show, which explored US imperialism and “colonial legacies,” became a target of backlash from conservative Latinos who publicly accused the museum of displaying an “unabashedly Marxist portrayal of history, religion, and economics.” Despite attempts to dismantle the emerging museum, a bipartisan coalition of senators including California Senator Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a bill in April that would set aside a spot for future NMAL along the National Mall.
Building a permanent location for NMAL could cost between $600 to $800 million, half of which was expected to come from Congress, according to estimates at the time of its approval. Even if all went according to plan, the museum would still not open for over a decade.
Last week, Kim Sajet, who served as the National Portrait Gallery director for over a decade, resigned after Trump claimed in a Truth Social post to have fired her. The Smithsonian clarified that only Bunch, with guidance from the Board of Regents, could make such personnel decisions, and said it was committed to remaining “free from political or partisan influence.” (Vice President JD Vance, conservative Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, and a mix of congressional Democrats and Republicans serve on the board).
Appropriations for the Smithsonian are typically determined in the annual Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which also establishes funds for the National Gallery of Art and other public-private cultural institutions. The House Appropriations Committee will consider the bill on June 26.