The Trump administration has been trailblazing various decisions that have been deemed correct by the President and his board of advisors. Be it the application of reciprocal tariffs or reformations in the Smithsonian, big decisions have marked the first few months of Donald Trump 's office in the White House.
Recently, the Trump administration released an executive order on March 27 titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History ." The order aims to "restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness." And how will this be done you ask? Well, by removing the mentions of historical racism.
This eminent task has been delegated to the only person whose name has been mentioned in the order explicitly, none other than Lindsey Halligan . Halligan will be consulting Vice President JD Vance to "remove improper ideology of weaponizing history" from the Smithsonian properties. “We don’t need to overemphasize the negative to teach people that certain aspects of our nation’s history may have been bad.” That overemphasis “just makes us grow further and further apart,” said Halligan to the Washington Post.
The Smithsonian Institute and mentions of historical racism
The Smithsonian Institution is the largest museum, education and research complex in the world, based in Washington DC. It includes 21 museums and galleries, the National Zoo and numerous research centres. It serves as a wholesome source of education about American history, art, science, culture and more and is funded by the government.
The institution has clear mentions about America's history of racism such as the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) which tells the story of slavery, segregation and more. The other museums such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum and spaces such as the National Portrait Gallery also include figures and mentions of American racism.
When Halligan moved to DC to continue her service as a Special Assistant and Senior Staff Secretary in the Trump administration, she visited the Smithsonian Institution and did not like what she saw. “And so I talked to the president about it, and suggested an executive order, and he gave me his blessing, and here we are,” she said.
Who is Lindsey Halligan?
Lindsey Halligan is a 35-year-old attorney. She spent her childhood in Broomfield, Colorado and attended a private Catholic high school, Holy Family. Her parents worked in the audiology industry and she has a sister Gavin, who is also an attorney specialising in family law.
Halligan's education included studying politics and broadcast journalism at the Regis University in Denver. She also participated in the Miss Colorado USA pageant where she made it to the semi-finals in 209 and third runner-up in 2010. “Sports and pageants taught me confidence, discipline, and how to handle pressure — on the court, on the field, on the stage, in the courtroom and now in the White House,” she said to the Post.
Her venture into law began with a law degree at the University of Miami. She interned for the Innocence Project and the Miami-Dade County public defender's office. After graduating in 2013, Halligan worked for an insurance firm Cole, Scott & Kissane in South Florida where she reached partner status in 2018.
How did Lindsey Halligan meet Donald Trump?
Halligan shared that she met Trump in November 2021 at an event at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. She had returned from court in a suit and was standing with other female attendees. Trump noticed her and asked her about her profession. He later made her a part of his legal team in 2022. Halligan said in Trump she saw "the same thing that I saw when I interned at the Innocence clinic: someone who was getting railroaded by the system.”
She also defended the President on TV after the August 2022 FBI raid. In 2024, she was a front-row guest at Trump's box at the Republican National Convention. After assuming her position in the Trump administration she introduced two proclamations, one on Irish American Heritage Month and the second on Women's History Month. Her third role is at the Smithsonian Institution.
Which museums are on Lindsey Halligan's radar?
In the March 27th order, three museums have been specifically mentioned. One is a reference to the infographic about "white culture" on the African American Museum's website that was removed in 2020, after Donald Trump Jr. 's criticism of it. Another is the American Women's History Museum which is not yet open but will apparently celebrate "male athletes participating in women's sports" which is another target of the Trump administration. The last is the American Art Museum whose exhibit "The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture" has been highlighted in the order.
Recently, the Trump administration released an executive order on March 27 titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History ." The order aims to "restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness." And how will this be done you ask? Well, by removing the mentions of historical racism.
This eminent task has been delegated to the only person whose name has been mentioned in the order explicitly, none other than Lindsey Halligan . Halligan will be consulting Vice President JD Vance to "remove improper ideology of weaponizing history" from the Smithsonian properties. “We don’t need to overemphasize the negative to teach people that certain aspects of our nation’s history may have been bad.” That overemphasis “just makes us grow further and further apart,” said Halligan to the Washington Post.
The Smithsonian Institute and mentions of historical racism
The Smithsonian Institution is the largest museum, education and research complex in the world, based in Washington DC. It includes 21 museums and galleries, the National Zoo and numerous research centres. It serves as a wholesome source of education about American history, art, science, culture and more and is funded by the government.
The institution has clear mentions about America's history of racism such as the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) which tells the story of slavery, segregation and more. The other museums such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum and spaces such as the National Portrait Gallery also include figures and mentions of American racism.
When Halligan moved to DC to continue her service as a Special Assistant and Senior Staff Secretary in the Trump administration, she visited the Smithsonian Institution and did not like what she saw. “And so I talked to the president about it, and suggested an executive order, and he gave me his blessing, and here we are,” she said.
Who is Lindsey Halligan?
Lindsey Halligan is a 35-year-old attorney. She spent her childhood in Broomfield, Colorado and attended a private Catholic high school, Holy Family. Her parents worked in the audiology industry and she has a sister Gavin, who is also an attorney specialising in family law.
Halligan's education included studying politics and broadcast journalism at the Regis University in Denver. She also participated in the Miss Colorado USA pageant where she made it to the semi-finals in 209 and third runner-up in 2010. “Sports and pageants taught me confidence, discipline, and how to handle pressure — on the court, on the field, on the stage, in the courtroom and now in the White House,” she said to the Post.
Her venture into law began with a law degree at the University of Miami. She interned for the Innocence Project and the Miami-Dade County public defender's office. After graduating in 2013, Halligan worked for an insurance firm Cole, Scott & Kissane in South Florida where she reached partner status in 2018.
How did Lindsey Halligan meet Donald Trump?
Halligan shared that she met Trump in November 2021 at an event at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. She had returned from court in a suit and was standing with other female attendees. Trump noticed her and asked her about her profession. He later made her a part of his legal team in 2022. Halligan said in Trump she saw "the same thing that I saw when I interned at the Innocence clinic: someone who was getting railroaded by the system.”
She also defended the President on TV after the August 2022 FBI raid. In 2024, she was a front-row guest at Trump's box at the Republican National Convention. After assuming her position in the Trump administration she introduced two proclamations, one on Irish American Heritage Month and the second on Women's History Month. Her third role is at the Smithsonian Institution.
Which museums are on Lindsey Halligan's radar?
In the March 27th order, three museums have been specifically mentioned. One is a reference to the infographic about "white culture" on the African American Museum's website that was removed in 2020, after Donald Trump Jr. 's criticism of it. Another is the American Women's History Museum which is not yet open but will apparently celebrate "male athletes participating in women's sports" which is another target of the Trump administration. The last is the American Art Museum whose exhibit "The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture" has been highlighted in the order.
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