Trump Says He Fired Kim Sajet, National Portrait Gallery Director

Art & Design|Trump Says He Fired Director of National Portrait Gallery, Citing D.E.I.

President Trump posted on social media on Friday that he had fired the director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, calling her “a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position.”

It is unclear if the president has legal grounds to fire the director, Kim Sajet, because the National Portrait Gallery is part of the Smithsonian Institution, which is independent of the federal government despite receiving nearly two-thirds of its budget from Congress.

The museum’s bylaws don’t have a provision for terminations, and some legal experts believe that the president would first need approval from the Smithsonian’s board of trustees, because he does not directly control the organization. However, this year he called on Vice President JD Vance, who is a member of the Smithsonian’s board, to work with Congress to overhaul the institution.

A Smithsonian official said the organization was caught off-guard by the president’s announcement but declined to comment further. The National Portrait Gallery did not respond to a request for comment.

Since returning to office in January, Mr. Trump has reshaped the capital’s arts scene, installing himself as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

After he quickly signed an executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in federally funded institutions, organizations like the Smithsonian closed their diversity offices. The National Gallery of Art changed its mission statement by replacing “diversity, equity, access and inclusion” with “welcoming and accessible.”