Smithsonian director resigns after Trump said he fired her

Two weeks after President Donald Trump claimed that he had fired her because she is a “very partisan person”, the director of the National Gallery of Portraits of Smithsonian, Kim Sajet, announced that he was renouncing.

In a memorandum sent to the staff on Friday, obtained for the first time by the New York Times, Sajet did not address Trump’s attacks, but said he believed that this was the correct movement for the museum.

“This was not an easy decision, but I think it’s correct,” he said in a memo sent by Secretary Smithsonian Lonnie Bunch. “From the beginning, my governing principle has been to put the museum first. Today, I think that separating aside is the best way to serve the institution that I have so deeply in my heart.”

Bunch praised Sajet, saying that “he put the needs of the institution over his own, and that’s why we thank him.”

Via News

At the end of May, Trump announced on social networks that he was “ending” Sajet, who had held the position for 12 years and was the first director of the National Portrait Gallery.

“She is a very partisan person and a great defender of Dei, who is totally inappropriate for her position,” the president wrote, referring to diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

Trump’s authority to say goodbye to Smithsonian, who is not part of the executive branch, immediately questioned, and Sajet continued to appear to work until Friday.

The main Democrat of the Chamber Administration Committee, representative Joseph Morelle (DN.Y.), and the main democrat of the Chamber Assignments Committee, the representative Rosa Delauro (D-Conn.), Published a joint statement last week saying that Trump had no “authority” to say goodbye to anyone of the Smithsonian.

“The dismissal of the director Sajet is unacceptable and has the same legal weight as the previous attempts of the president of undermining the independence of Smithsonian: absolutely none,” said legislators. “If the White House requires a copy of the Constitution, we would be more than happy to provide one.”

The Regent Board of Smithsonian supported that position, saying on Monday that all the decisions of the staff are led by Bunch, who “has the support of the Board of Regents in its authority and management of Smithsonian.”

The Board includes several legislators, the president of the United States Supreme Court, John Roberts, and Vice President JD Vance.

Kevin Carter through Getty Images

The White House recognized Sajet’s departure on Friday, with spokesman Davis Ingle saying in a statement: “The first day, President Trump made it clear that there is no place for the dangerous anti -American ideology in our government and institutions. Aligned. Aligned. Aligned.[ment] With this objective, he ordered the ending of Kim Sajet. The Trump administration is committed to restoring American greatness and celebrating the proud history of our nation. “

In March, Trump issued an executive order that prohibits federal expenditure on any Smithsonian exhibition that “divides Americans depending on the race.”

Sajet has not issued any public statement about the order.

In a December interview with The Guardian, Sajet, who was born from Dutch parents in Nigeria and raised in Australia, spoke about his “great love” for the United States and his cultural influence in the rest of the world, calling him a “tremendous gift.”

“In any case, I do not believe that Americans realize how much impact they have worldwide,” he said, adding: “Sometimes I think Americans look so much inward and can’t see what impact they have worldwide.”