Loving America is not complicated.

[00:00:00]In 1964, as you mentioned, uh Chairman Styles, at the opening of what was later to be renamed the National Museum of American History, President Johnson said the purpose of the museum was to quote foster patriotism.

[00:00:11]>> [clears throat] >> Director Kellogg noted that the museum would quote awaken awaken a clear understanding of this inspiring story of the United States.

[00:00:20]62 years later, the history museum is failing to do any of this. Instead of highlighting important parts of American history such as the founding, the current leadership of the history museum chooses to focus on showcasing American history as one that is problematic, destructive, and oppressive. The museum leaders use this institution to promote a Marxist and Gramscian view of the world that sees everything as a battle between oppressors and the oppressed.

[00:00:47]This is why it has an entire center devoted to something called restorative history.

[00:00:53]The history museum even has education plans that target students in pre-K through third grade to indoctrinate them on open borders and LGBTQ matters.

[00:01:02]Pre-K.

[00:01:03]I'll cut to the chase. Yesterday in a separate hearing, also in the Smithsonian, I called for you and Congress to work with the Board of Regents to dismiss the entire leadership of the Smithsonian. I also called and do so again now for you to deauthorize the yet to be built Latino Museum, which will also become an incubator for anti-American grievances.

[00:01:23]Present leadership cannot make the changes that are needed to correct course. Secretary Lonnie Bunch the third, Anthea Hartig the director of the history museum, and one of today's witnesses, and other museum leaders have commandeered the world's largest museum complex and tell us themselves that they intend to use it as a tool for societal transformation.

[00:01:42]This is not why America has entrusted these institutions to them. National museums are repositories of a nation's collective inheritance so that it it can be transmitted to future generations.

[00:01:53]The leadership is the entity at fault here. It is they who set the standards and guide the staff.

[00:01:59]In one example, the leadership of the history museum for years made staff take part in a reading group to discuss the museum as a site for social action toolkit, also called a mass to action toolkit. That alleges that objectivity, quote, I'm quoting here, objectivity, individualism, perfectionism, worship of the written word, and other traits are characteristics of white supremacy culture. This is revolting.

[00:02:25]In fact, the the Smithsonian itself publicly agreed it was. It apologized in 2020 after the National Museum of African American History and Culture exhibited a chart with this nonsense, outraging the public. The museum leadership issued a statement saying, "We erred in including the chart. We have removed it and we apologize."

[00:02:44]At yesterday's hearing, Director Hardiman said the Smithsonian didn't develop the toolkit. But the toolkit was co-authored by half a dozen current and former Smithsonian employees. And Dr. Hardiman's museum kept surreptitiously indoctrinating staff with this trash for 3 years after the museum apologized for using it. Which shows the promises of reform are written in sand. But wait, there's more.

[00:03:05]It just so happens that it was Lonnie Bunch who called for these trainings when he was co-chair of the Excellence in DEAI Task Force.

[00:03:13]This 2022 report by the task force um co-chaired by by the Secretary Bunch and which bears his name calls for staff to receive formal education on DEAI and calls for leadership to create training forums.

[00:03:28]It praises the mass action toolkit as offering, quote, "good resources to start to start this work." But wait, there's more. Lonnie Bunch himself agrees with this racist nonsense.

[00:03:39]The report calls to, quote, "shift leaders and museum professionals a wait away from white dominant characteristics of perfection, risk aversion, and conflict avoidance." Unquote.

[00:03:52]Does anyone in this committee believe that perfection is a white characteristic?

[00:03:57]The man who runs the museum apparently does.

[00:04:00]This insanity has gone on long enough.

[00:04:02]Once again, I call on Congress to do its duty and take back the Smithsonian from a rogue leadership that now uses it as their own plaything for dangerous ideological games.

[00:04:12]Loving America is not complicated, Mr. Chairman.

[00:04:15]Thank you.