Presidential DocumentExecutive Order 142532025-05838
Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History
Primary source
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Published
April 3, 2025
Signed
March 27, 2025
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 63 (Thursday, April 3, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 63 (Thursday, April 3, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 14563-14565]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-05838]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 63 / Thursday, April 3, 2025 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 14563]]
Executive Order 14253 of March 27, 2025
Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose and Policy. Over the past decade,
Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread
effort to rewrite our Nation's history, replacing
objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by
ideology rather than truth. This revisionist movement
seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the
United States by casting its founding principles and
historical milestones in a negative light. Under this
historical revision, our Nation's unparalleled legacy
of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human
happiness is reconstructed as inherently racist,
sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.
Rather than fostering unity and a deeper understanding
of our shared past, the widespread effort to rewrite
history deepens societal divides and fosters a sense of
national shame, disregarding the progress America has
made and the ideals that continue to inspire millions
around the globe.
The prior administration advanced this corrosive
ideology. At Independence National Historical Park in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania--where our Nation declared
that all men are created equal--the prior
administration sponsored training by an organization
that advocates dismantling ``Western foundations'' and
``interrogating institutional racism'' and pressured
National Historical Park rangers that their racial
identity should dictate how they convey history to
visiting Americans because America is purportedly
racist.
Once widely respected as a symbol of American
excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement,
the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come
under the influence of a divisive, race-centered
ideology. This shift has promoted narratives that
portray American and Western values as inherently
harmful and oppressive. For example, the Smithsonian
American Art Museum today features ``The Shape of
Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture,'' an
exhibit representing that ``[s]ocieties including the
United States have used race to establish and maintain
systems of power, privilege, and disenfranchisement.''
The exhibit further claims that ``sculpture has been a
powerful tool in promoting scientific racism'' and
promotes the view that race is not a biological reality
but a social construct, stating ``Race is a human
invention.''
The National Museum of African American History and
Culture has proclaimed that ``hard work,''
``individualism,'' and ``the nuclear family'' are
aspects of ``White culture.'' The forthcoming
Smithsonian American Women's History Museum plans on
celebrating the exploits of male athletes participating
in women's sports. These are just a few examples.
It is the policy of my Administration to restore
Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and
museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that
remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage,
consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect
Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty,
prosperity, and human flourishing. Museums in our
Nation's capital should be places where individuals go
to learn--not to be subjected to ideological
indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our
shared history.
To advance this policy, we will restore the Smithsonian
Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of
inspiration and American greatness--igniting
[[Page 14564]]
the imagination of young minds, honoring the richness
of American history and innovation, and instilling
pride in the hearts of all Americans.
Sec. 2. Saving Our Smithsonian. (a) The Vice President,
in consultation with the Assistant to the President for
Domestic Policy and the Special Assistant to the
President and Senior Associate Staff Secretary, Lindsey
Halligan, Esq., shall work to effectuate the policies
of this order through his role on the Smithsonian Board
of Regents with respect to the Smithsonian Institution
and its museums, education and research centers, and
the National Zoo, including by seeking to remove
improper ideology from such properties, and shall
recommend to the President any additional actions
necessary to fully effectuate such policies.
(b) The Vice President and the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget shall work with the
Congress to ensure that future appropriations to the
Smithsonian Institution:
(i) prohibit expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared
American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or
ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy; and
(ii) celebrate the achievements of women in the American Women's History
Museum and do not recognize men as women in any respect in the Museum.
(c) The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget and the Secretary of the Interior shall take any
other measures within their authority to promote the
policy of this order.
(d) As appropriate, the Vice President shall, in
consultation with the Assistant to the President for
Domestic Policy and Special Assistant to the President
and Senior Associate Staff Secretary, Lindsey Halligan,
Esq., work with the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the Senate Majority Leader, to seek
the appointment of citizen members to the Smithsonian
Board of Regents committed to advancing the policy of
this order.
Sec. 3. Restoring Independence Hall. The Secretary of
the Interior shall provide sufficient funding, as
available, to improve the infrastructure of
Independence National Historical Park, which shall be
complete by July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the
signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Sec. 4. Restoring Truth in American History.
(a) The Secretary of the Interior shall:
(i) determine whether, since January 1, 2020, public monuments, memorials,
statues, markers, or similar properties within the Department of the
Interior's jurisdiction have been removed or changed to perpetuate a false
reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of
certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper
partisan ideology;
(ii) take action to reinstate the pre-existing monuments, memorials,
statues, markers, or similar properties, as appropriate and consistent with
43 U.S.C. 1451 et seq., 54 U.S.C. 100101 et seq., and other applicable law;
and
(iii) take action, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to
ensure that all public monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar
properties within the Department of the Interior's jurisdiction do not
contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately
disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial
times), and instead focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress
of the American people or, with respect to natural features, the beauty,
abundance, and grandeur of the American landscape.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
[[Page 14565]]
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 27, 2025.
[FR Doc. 2025-05838
Filed 4-2-25; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 3, 2025.
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