في 27 مارس 2025، أصدر الرئيس ترامب الأمر التنفيذي رقم 14253 بعنوان "استعادة الحقيقة والعقلانية إلى التاريخ الأمريكي"، الذي يوجه مؤسسة سميثسونيان بإزالة المعروضات والبرامج التي تعتبر أنها تحتوي على "أيديولوجية غير لائقة" أو محتوى "يحط من قدر الأمريكيين بشكل غير لائق". وأشار الأمر على وجه التحديد إلى معرض "شكل القوة: قصص عن العرق والنحت الأمريكي" في متحف سميثسونيان للفن الأمريكي كمثال على المحتوى المثير للانقسام، مدعياً أنه يصور القيم الأمريكية والغربية على أنها "ضارة وقمعية بطبيعتها". وأمر الأمر نائب الرئيس ومكتب الإدارة والميزانية بالعمل مع الكونغرس لضمان أن تمنع مخصصات سميثسونيان المستقبلية الإنفاق على المعارض أو البرامج التي "تحط من شأن القيم الأمريكية المشتركة، أو تقسم الأمريكيين على أساس العرق، أو تروج لبرامج أو أيديولوجيات تتعارض مع القانون والسياسة الفيدرالية". أدان المؤرخون والمتخصصون في المتاحف وأعضاء الكونغرس هذا التوجيه باعتباره رقابة سياسية على المؤسسات الثقافية المدعومة اتحاديًا وانتهاكًا لاستقلالية متحف سميثسونيان في تنفيذ مهمته التعليمية.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a cable titled “Action Request: Enhanced Screening and Social Media Vetting for Visa Applicants” requiring consular officers to refer all F-1 (academic student), J-1 (exchange visitor), and M-1 (vocational student) visa applicants to Fraud Prevention Units for mandatory social media checks. The cable requires consular officers to refer all F-1, M-1, and J-1 visa applicants to Fraud Prevention Units for mandatory social media checks, with particular focus on applicants who held student/exchange visas between October 7, 2023 and August 31, 2024. Officers must screen for terrorism-related ineligibilities, which the cable states may be evident in ‘conduct that bears a hostile attitude toward U.S. citizens or U.S. culture (including government, institutions, or founding principles). This policy directly impacts international students attending U.S. conservatories, theater programs, and arts universities, as well as cultural exchange participants including musicians, dancers, visual artists, and theater practitioners participating in J-1 exchange programs. The requirement creates a chilling effect on artistic and political expression as a condition for visa eligibility. The New York Times reported that more than 800 students lost their visas as a result of this policy as of April 2025.

In 2025, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) introduced legislation threatening to withhold at least $185 million in federal transportation funds from Washington, D.C. unless the city removed the “Black Lives Matter” mural and renamed the plaza “Liberty Plaza.” Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on March 4 that the city would paint over the mural, and removal began March 10, with the mayor stating the city could not “afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference.” Critics characterized the funding threat as federal coercion to suppress local artistic and political expression.

On February 14, 2025, the National Park Service removed all references to “transgender” and “queer” from the Stonewall National Monument website, changing “LGBTQ+” to “LGB” and erasing mentions of transgender activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera who were central to the 1969 uprising. The Park Service stated the changes were made to comply with Trump executive orders on “restoring biological truth to the federal government.” The Stonewall Inn and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups condemned the action as a “blatant act of erasure” that distorts the history of the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights and dishonors transgender contributions to the movement. Weeks later, the NPS also removed entire web pages dedicated to transgender activists from the site.

On February 7, President Trump announced he would dismiss 18 members of the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees and appoint himself as chairman, marking the first time a president has mass-fired board members or assumed leadership of the prestigious performing arts institution. Trump stated the center had featured “drag shows specifically targeting our youth” and vowed “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA,” installing Richard Grenell as interim executive director to reshape programming. Following the takeover, the Kennedy Center canceled LGBTQ+ programming including WorldPride concerts and performances by the Gay Men’s Chorus, and dismantled the Social Impact team focused on serving underserved communities. This move imposes an unprecedented degree of government oversight onto the curatorial decisions of the Kennedy Center, and has already resulted in the discriminatory cancellation of artist groups out of favor with the Presidential administration.

On February 7, 2025 President Trump fired Colleen Shogan as head of the National Archives and Records Administration, marking the first time a sitting president has removed the National Archivist since the position was established in the 1930s. The firing represented an unprecedented assertion of presidential authority over an independent federal agency responsible for preserving and presenting American historical records and cultural heritage. While Trump cited the Archives’ role in the classified documents investigation, the removal occurred amid ongoing controversy over Shogan’s October 2024 directive to staff to remove or minimize exhibits on slavery, civil rights leaders, Japanese-American internment, and Indigenous displacement. Historians and civil rights organizations condemned the firing as political interference in a nonpartisan cultural institution responsible for safeguarding the nation’s historical record.

In response to Executive Order 14151 (January 20, 2025), which mandated termination of all federal DEI programs and equity-related grants, the NEA cancelled its Challenge America grant program on February 6, 2025. Challenge America had supported small arts organizations serving underserved communities. The NEA revised its 2026 grant guidelines to prohibit DEI programs and “gender ideology,” prioritize America250 projects, and require a five-year organizational history. Organizations with pending applications were required to resubmit under the new criteria. Critics condemned the changes as censorship that imposed ideological conditions on arts funding. The ACLU and several other organizations filed suit against the NEA over its cancellation of funding arguing that The lawsuit argues that the grant-guidance restrictions—particularly the requirement that applicants avoid “promoting gender ideology”—unconstitutionally violate the First Amendment and exceed the agency’s lawful authority.

أمر تنفيذي رقم 14188، الموقع في 29 يناير/كانون الثاني 2025، وجه الوكالات الفيدرالية إلى تحديد السلطات المختصة بمكافحة معاداة السامية، وتضمن أحكاما تقضي بأن تراقب الجامعات أنشطة الطلاب غير المواطنين التي قد تؤدي إلى إجراءات الترحيل وتبلغ عنها. لا يقيد نص الأمر صراحة الحرية الفنية أو الترحيل المباشر. لكن السلطات الفيدرالية استخدمت الأمر ذريعة لتقييد التعبير المشروع والسلمي للطلاب المشاركين في الاحتجاجات الجامعية. ألغت السلطات أكثر من 1500 تأشيرة دراسية دولية في ما لا يقل عن 32 ولاية واعتقلت العديد من الطلاب المشاركين في المظاهرات المؤيدة لفلسطين. طعنت منظمات الحريات المدنية في هذه الإجراءات باعتبارها انتهاكات غير دستورية لحقوق حرية التعبير والتجمع.

President Trump signed an executive order requiring federal contractors and grantees, cultural institutions, to certify that they do not operate DEI programs that violate federal anti-discrimination laws. The order revoked longstanding affirmative action requirements for federal contractors and directed agencies to combat DEI initiatives in the private sector. Critics warned the order’s vague language would create a chilling effect on diversity programming and cultural perspectives in federally funded institutions. The executive order has been challenged in court on the grounds that its restrictions on DEI-related programs and requirements for “merit-based” practices unlawfully suppress protected expression and discriminate against organizations engaging in equity-focused work.

وقع الرئيس ترامب على أمر تنفيذي يلغي الحماية الفيدرالية للهوية الجنسية في برامج التعليم والصحة والثقافة. وصدرت تعليمات للوكالات بتعريف الجنس "بشكل صارم على أنه بيولوجي"، مما أدى إلى إلغاء السياسات الشاملة في المتاحف والمكتبات والمساحات الثقافية المدعومة من الحكومة الفيدرالية. يقيّد الأمر التمويل لأي شيء يستخدم مصطلح "أيديولوجية الجنس" أو يشير إلى "الجنس" بدلاً من "الجنس البيولوجي"، مما سيحد من المؤسسات الفنية والثقافية وكذلك المنظمات غير الحكومية الفنية، حيث إن هذه المصطلحات شائعة في المشاريع الفنية وفي أبحاث تاريخ الفن. حذرت منظمات LGBTQ+ من أن هذا سيؤدي إلى تقييد التعبير الفني والعام المرتبط بالهوية الكويرية. في فبراير 2025، رفعت الرابطة الحضرية الوطنية دعوى قضائية ضد الأمر التنفيذي 14168، بحجة أن القيود التي تفرضها الإدارة على سياسات التنوع والإنصاف والاندماج (DEI) والهوية الجنسية تنتهك حماية الحقوق المدنية وحقوق حرية التعبير.

President Trump issued an executive order reforming the federal accreditation process for higher education institutions. The order directed accrediting bodies to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) standards, which the administration characterized as “unlawful discrimination,” and to prioritize “intellectual diversity” among faculty. It instructed the Secretary of Education to investigate and potentially terminate accreditors that require DEI-related practices or who fail to maintain and “intellectually diverse” staff. Academic organizations warned the order could lead to government interference in institutional decision-making at universities, raising concerns about restrictions on cultural programming and curricula, particularly those addressing diversity, race, and gender.

A presidential memorandum directed the Administrator of the General Services Administration to submit recommendations promoting “classical and traditional” architectural styles for federal buildings. The directive discouraged contemporary architectural designs and called for revisions to federal architecture guidelines. The Society of Architectural Historians argued that the policy would impose rigid aesthetic preferences, disregard local artistic and architectural contexts, stifle design innovation, and limit artistic freedom.