American Alliance of Museums Makes Case for Policy Proposals Following Democrats’ Landslide Election Win

Since President Donald Trump returned to office last year, his administration has made reining in the cultural sphere a core plank of his agenda.

Those efforts have included slashing federal funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA); attempting to remake the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in his image; and unleashing a relentless barrage of executive orders, attempted firings, and investigations targeting the Smithsonian Institution and its affiliated museums. The campaign reached a fever pitch in July, when the White House released a 162-page report detailing supposed “ideological capture” at the National Museum of American History. Two congressional hearings followed, in which lawmakers grilled the museum’s director, Anthea Hartig, over her perceived failure to uphold the institution’s mission.

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), a leading industry group for museums, has steadfastly defended cultural institutions facing Trump’s wrath, rebuking the administration’s efforts in public statements.

Now, with the political winds shifting and Democrats having secured their biggest midterm election victory in decades, AAM isn’t wasting time. In a statement released November 4, the day after the election, the organization said it plans to push the newly elected Congress to restore or increase funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which was decimated by budget cuts last year, as well as for the NEA and NEH. AAM also called for lifting the House Appropriations Committee’s current ban on earmark funding for museums.

Asked about the organization’s priorities for the incoming Congress, an AAM spokesperson told ARTnews, “We’re focused on continuing to build strong bipartisan support for museums, protecting federal funding for museums, and ensuring museums can fulfill their educational missions without political interference which is an important part of the conversation for the entire field.”

AAM did not offer details on how Congress might prevent political interference in the museum field. In late September, a group of Democratic lawmakers led by Representative Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico introduced a bill to protect the independence of the Smithsonian Institution, a measure AAM endorsed. At the time, Devon Akmon, chair of AAM’s board, said of the bill, “Protecting the Smithsonian’s scholarly independence honors that public trust and affirms a principle fundamental to all museums: scholarship and interpretation must be guided by evidence, expertise, and professional standards, not political influence.” The bill has not advanced since its introduction and will need to be reintroduced when the new Congress convenes in January.

On December 2, AAM will host a live webinar with Brandy Dillingham, its director of advocacy, and Nichole Westin, its senior director of government and field relations, on how the election results may affect museums.