1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to oppose and seek repeal or legislative limits on Executive Order 14253, titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” While I strongly support the preservation and teaching of our nation’s history, this order undermines the very principles it claims to defend. By conditioning Smithsonian oversight, funding, and museum programming on adherence to an ideological standard, the order places politics above scholarship and threatens the independence of our cultural and educational institutions. Federal museums and historic sites must remain nonpartisan centers of learning—dedicated to truth, evidence, and the broad diversity of the American experience. Specifically, I am concerned that: • The order directs the Vice President and federal agencies to interfere with museum curation and research, substituting political mandates for professional expertise. • It conditions funding on eliminating content deemed to “divide Americans,” which in practice may suppress honest accounts of racism, inequality, and conflict in our history. • It prescribes content for the American Women’s History Museum, limiting recognition of women’s experiences and imposing restrictions that are inconsistent with scholarly independence. • It instructs the Department of the Interior to alter or reinstate monuments based on ideology rather than historical evidence and community input. Our national story is complex, and our museums exist to present it faithfully, not selectively. Erasing uncomfortable truths does not strengthen our country—it weakens the foundation of understanding and unity that real history provides. I respectfully ask you to: 1. Publicly oppose Executive Order 14253 and its directives over museums and cultural institutions. 2. Support congressional oversight to ensure the Smithsonian and the National Park Service remain guided by scholarship, not ideology. 3. Promote legislation that safeguards the independence of museums, libraries, and cultural sites from political interference. Thank you for your leadership in protecting the integrity of American history and the institutions entrusted to preserve it.