Executive Order

Executive Order 14253 of March 27, 2025 Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History

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Published

March 27, 2025

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Ingested

June 29, 2026

Summary

Executive Order 14253, issued by the President on March 27, 2025, directs federal agencies to restore a specific narrative of American history at national sites and institutions, countering what it describes as "distorted" or "ideological" revisions. It mandates the Vice President and OMB to influence Smithsonian Institution content and appropriations, prohibiting exhibits that degrade American values or promote divisive ideologies, and ensuring the American Women's History Museum does not recognize men as women. The order also requires the Secretary of the Interior to review and reinstate historical monuments, improve Independence National Historical Park, and ensure Department of the Interior properties focus on American achievements.

Key provisions

Executive Order 14253: Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History

Executive Order 14253, issued on March 27, 2025, addresses what it describes as a "concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history" with distorted, ideologically driven narratives. The order aims to restore federal historical sites, including parks and museums, to their intended purpose of celebrating American heritage and progress, free from what it deems ideological indoctrination.

Purpose and Policy

The Executive Order asserts that a "revisionist movement" has sought to undermine U.S. achievements by portraying its founding principles and historical milestones as "inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed," thereby deepening societal divides.
It cites specific examples of this perceived distortion, including training at Independence National Historical Park that advocated "dismantling 'Western foundations'" and Smithsonian Institution exhibits (e.g., "The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture") promoting narratives of race as a social construct used to establish power systems.
The order also highlights the National Museum of African American History and Culture's characterization of "hard work," "individualism," and "the nuclear family" as aspects of "White culture," and plans for the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum to celebrate male athletes in women's sports.
Policy Directive: The Administration's policy is to restore Federal sites dedicated to history to "solemn and uplifting public monuments" that remind Americans of their extraordinary heritage, consistent progress, and record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing, ensuring they are places of learning, not "ideological indoctrination."

Saving Our Smithsonian

Compliance Requirement: The Vice President, 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., is directed to work through his role on the Smithsonian Board of Regents to remove "improper ideology" from Smithsonian properties (museums, education/research centers, National Zoo) and recommend further actions to the President.
Compliance Requirement: The Vice President and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shall work with Congress to ensure future appropriations to the Smithsonian Institution prohibit expenditures 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."
Compliance Requirement: Appropriations must also ensure the American Women’s History Museum celebrates women's achievements and "do not recognize men as women in any respect in the Museum."
The Vice President is also directed to work with congressional leadership to seek the appointment of citizen members to the Smithsonian Board of Regents who are committed to advancing the order's policy.

Restoring Independence Hall

Compliance Requirement: The Secretary of the Interior shall provide sufficient funding, as available, to improve the infrastructure of Independence National Historical Park.
Deadline: These improvements must be complete by July 4, 2026, marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Restoring Truth in American History

Compliance Requirement: The Secretary of the Interior shall 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."
Compliance Requirement: The Secretary is directed to take action to reinstate pre-existing properties, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law (including 43 U.S.C. 1451 et seq. and 54 U.S.C. 100101 et seq.).
Compliance Requirement: The Secretary shall also ensure that all such properties within the Department of the Interior’s jurisdiction do not contain content that "inappropriately disparage Americans past or living" and instead focus on the "greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people" or the "beauty, abundance, and grandeur of the American landscape."

General Provisions

The order clarifies that nothing within it should be construed to impair the authority granted by law to executive departments or agencies, or the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
Implementation of the order is subject to applicable law and the availability of appropriations.
The order explicitly states that it is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States or its entities.

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Executive Order 14253: Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History

Purpose and Policy

The Executive Order asserts that a "revisionist movement" has sought to undermine U.S. achievements by portraying its founding principles and historical milestones as "inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed," thereby deepening societal divides.

It cites specific examples of this perceived distortion, including training at Independence National Historical Park that advocated "dismantling 'Western foundations'" and Smithsonian Institution exhibits (e.g., "The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture") promoting narratives of race as a social construct used to establish power systems.

The order also highlights the National Museum of African American History and Culture's characterization of "hard work," "individualism," and "the nuclear family" as aspects of "White culture," and plans for the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum to celebrate male athletes in women's sports.

Policy Directive: The Administration's policy is to restore Federal sites dedicated to history to "solemn and uplifting public monuments" that remind Americans of their extraordinary heritage, consistent progress, and record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing, ensuring they are places of learning, not "ideological indoctrination."

Saving Our Smithsonian

Compliance Requirement: The Vice President, 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., is directed to work through his role on the Smithsonian Board of Regents to remove "improper ideology" from Smithsonian properties (museums, education/research centers, National Zoo) and recommend further actions to the President.

Compliance Requirement: The Vice President and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shall work with Congress to ensure future appropriations to the Smithsonian Institution prohibit expenditures 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."

Compliance Requirement: Appropriations must also ensure the American Women’s History Museum celebrates women's achievements and "do not recognize men as women in any respect in the Museum."

The Vice President is also directed to work with congressional leadership to seek the appointment of citizen members to the Smithsonian Board of Regents who are committed to advancing the order's policy.

Restoring Independence Hall

Compliance Requirement: The Secretary of the Interior shall provide sufficient funding, as available, to improve the infrastructure of Independence National Historical Park.

Deadline: These improvements must be complete by July 4, 2026, marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Restoring Truth in American History

Compliance Requirement: The Secretary of the Interior shall 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."

Compliance Requirement: The Secretary is directed to take action to reinstate pre-existing properties, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law (including 43 U.S.C. 1451 et seq. and 54 U.S.C. 100101 et seq.).

Compliance Requirement: The Secretary shall also ensure that all such properties within the Department of the Interior’s jurisdiction do not contain content that "inappropriately disparage Americans past or living" and instead focus on the "greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people" or the "beauty, abundance, and grandeur of the American landscape."

General Provisions

The order clarifies that nothing within it should be construed to impair the authority granted by law to executive departments or agencies, or the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

Implementation of the order is subject to applicable law and the availability of appropriations.

The order explicitly states that it is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States or its entities.