{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://pressley.house.gov/2026/09/08/news-pressley-thanks-outgoing-smithsonian-secretary-lonnie-bunch-slams-trumps-fascist-assault-on-museums/", "NEWS: Pressley Thanks Outgoing Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, Slams Trump\u2019s Fascist Assault on Museums", "2026-09-08", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Ayanna Pressley", "P000617", "pressley.house.gov", "pressley", "https://pressley.house.gov/news/", "scraper", "Pressley Has Fought to Protect Black History Against Trump\u2019s Crusade to Whitewash Museums; Demanded Investigation Into Trump\u2019s Attack on Smithsonian\n\nPressley Has Drawn Parallels Between Trump\u2019s Attempt Remove Museum Exhibits to Nazi Germany Destroying Jewish Art\n\nWASHINGTON \u2013 Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued the following statement thanking outgoing Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III and slamming the Trump Administration\u2019s ongoing fascist assault on American museums. Secretary Bunch announced that he would step down from his role at the end of this year.\n\nCongresswoman Pressley has led efforts in Congress to protect Black history against Trump\u2019s crusade to whitewash American museums and has demanded an investigation into Trump\u2019s attack on the Smithsonian. In a July committee hearing, the Congresswoman highlighted Trump\u2019s attempts to erase, whitewash, and rewrite American history, through his attacks on Smithsonian museums and cultural institutions.\n\n\u201cSecretary Lonnie Bunch III spent his career making sure America tells the full truth about itself. I am deeply grateful for his extraordinary leadership, his stewardship of American history, and his unwavering defense of our stories during an unprecedented, anti-Black, and fascist assault from the highest levels of power.\n\n\u201cI was honored to meet with Secretary Bunch last year to discuss his work and how we can push back against the Trump Administration\u2019s attacks on the Smithsonian\u2019s independence and its mission to tell the full, complicated, and beautiful story of America. It is a shame that he is stepping down at a moment when Black America and Black history are under attack by an occupant of the Oval Office hell bent on erasing, whitewashing, and rewriting our shared history to push a false narrative about our country.\n\n\u201cWhile Secretary Bunch\u2019s resignation is a loss for the Smithsonian and our country, his work must continue. I wish him the very best in his future endeavors, and I will not stop fighting to protect our museums, defend the truth, and preserve our history for generations to come.\u201d\n\nRep. Pressley has been a leading voice in defending diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, protecting Black history, and pushing back against Republicans\u2019 efforts to deny intellectual freedom\u2014whether by banning books or threatening museums.\n\nRep. Pressley has also led on securing critical funding for museums, arts, and humanities.\n\nIn 2022, she secured $207 million in federal funding for both the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment of the Arts, which has supported communities, schools, and small businesses throughout the Massachusetts 7th Congressional district. She also secured $2,505,000 for the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program in the National Parks Service Operations.\n\nRep. Pressley has advocated for support for museums across the country that are dedicated to archiving, researching, and preserving the African American experience, such as the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In FY26, she secured $6 million for the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture\u2014including $500,000 for Boston\u2019s Museum of African American History\u2014which will provide such museums the resources they need to build on their work and continue to make history more accessible to the public.\n\nIn February 2026, Rep. Pressley led 52 of her colleagues in introducing a resolution to honor Black history museums and cultural institutions in their telling of our accurate, shared American history and protect these institutions from erasure, whitewashing, and funding cuts.\n\nIn August 2025, Rep. Pressley condemned Trump\u2019s attempt to politicize, editorialize, and whitewash exhibits at Smithsonian museums\u2014particularly museums and exhibits with diverse and factual presentations of American history.\n\nIn May 2025, Rep. Pressley, alongside Congressman Paul Tonko (NY-20), Co-Chair of the Congressional Museum Caucus, led 69 of their colleagues on a letter to the Inspector General of the Smithsonian Institution demanding an investigation on the impact of Donald Trump\u2019s harmful Executive Order attacking Smithsonian museums \u2013 namely, the American Art Museum, the American Women\u2019s History Museum, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture \u2013 attempting to erase histories of marginalized communities. A copy of the letter is available here.\n\nIn May 2025, Rep. Pressley convened a roundtable and press conference at the Museum of African American History in Boston to uplift the vital role of museums in preserving our shared history amid Donald Trump\u2019s attack on cultural institutions and his attempts to erase the documented histories of marginalized communities.\n\nIn April 2025, Rep. Pressley delivered a floor speech slamming Trump\u2019s attack on Smithsonian museums and affirming that Black history is American history.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-09T09:27:09Z", "2026-09-09T09:29:04Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://pressley.house.gov/2026/09/08/news-pressley-thanks-outgoing-smithsonian-secretary-lonnie-bunch-slams-trumps-fascist-assault-on-museums/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9202300570905209, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}