El 27 de marzo de 2025, el presidente Trump emitió la Orden Ejecutiva 14253 titulada «Restaurar la verdad y la cordura a la historia estadounidense», en la que ordenaba a la Institución Smithsonian retirar las exposiciones y programas que se consideraran que contenían «ideología inadecuada» o contenidos que «despreciaran de forma inapropiada a los estadounidenses». La orden citaba específicamente «La forma del poder: historias de raza y escultura estadounidense» en el Museo Smithsonian de Arte Estadounidense como ejemplo de contenido divisivo, alegando que retrataba los valores estadounidenses y occidentales como «intrínsecamente dañinos y opresivos». La orden instruía al vicepresidente y a la Oficina de Gestión y Presupuesto a colaborar con el Congreso para garantizar que las futuras asignaciones presupuestarias al Smithsonian prohibieran el gasto en exposiciones o programas que «degraden los valores estadounidenses compartidos, dividan a los estadounidenses por motivos raciales o promuevan programas o ideologías incompatibles con la legislación y la política federal». Historiadores, profesionales de museos y miembros del Congreso condenaron la directiva como una censura política de las instituciones culturales financiadas con fondos federales y una violación de la independencia del Smithsonian para llevar a cabo su misión educativa.

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.

La Orden Ejecutiva 14188, firmada el 29 de enero de 2025, ordenaba a las agencias federales identificar a las autoridades encargadas de combatir el antisemitismo e incluía disposiciones para que las universidades supervisaran e informaran sobre las actividades de los estudiantes no ciudadanos que pudieran dar lugar a procedimientos de expulsión. El texto de la orden no restringe explícitamente la libertad artística ni ordena deportaciones. Sin embargo, las autoridades federales han utilizado la orden como pretexto para restringir la expresión legítima y pacífica de los estudiantes que participan en protestas en los campus. Las autoridades revocaron más de 1500 visados de estudiantes internacionales en al menos 32 estados y detuvieron a varios estudiantes que participaban en manifestaciones a favor de Palestina. Las organizaciones de libertades civiles han impugnado estas medidas por considerarlas violaciones inconstitucionales de los derechos de libertad de expresión y de reunión.

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.

El presidente Trump firmó una orden ejecutiva que elimina las protecciones federales para la identidad de género en la educación, la salud y los programas culturales. Se ordenó a las agencias que definieran el sexo «estrictamente como biológico», lo que provocó la eliminación de políticas inclusivas en museos, bibliotecas y espacios culturales financiados por el gobierno federal. La orden restringe la financiación de cualquier cosa que utilice el término «ideología de género» o que se refiera al «género» en lugar del «sexo», lo que limitará las instituciones artísticas y culturales, así como las ONG artísticas, ya que se trata de términos comunes en los proyectos artísticos y en la investigación sobre historia del arte. Las organizaciones LGBTQ+ advirtieron que esto enfriaría la expresión artística y pública vinculada a la identidad queer. En febrero de 2025, la Liga Urbana Nacional presentó una demanda contra la Orden Ejecutiva 14168, argumentando que las restricciones de la administración a las políticas de DEI y de identidad de género violan las protecciones de los derechos civiles y los derechos de libertad de expresión.

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.