Latino museum site choice renews ideological dispute

Smithsonian selects an existing property

The Smithsonian designated its Arts and Industries Building as the permanent home of the National Museum of the American Latino, choosing a property already under the institution’s control. National Park Service locations had also been considered.

Mike Gonzalez, a former State Department official under President George W. Bush and a longtime opponent of the museum, said the location lets the Smithsonian proceed without returning to Congress for another dispute over the project. He called for the museum to be deauthorized and for a change in Smithsonian leadership.

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III later announced his retirement after four decades with the institution. The announcement followed Gonzalez’s interview, but no connection between the two developments was established.

Heritage report challenges museum’s presentation

Gonzalez examined the museum’s 2022 inaugural exhibition, “¡Presente!,” in a Heritage Foundation report. He argued that exhibition panels advanced Marxist, anti-American and anti-Western ideas.

His criticism included the exhibition’s treatment of the U.S.-Mexico border and westward expansion. Gonzalez said its framing emphasized displacement while giving insufficient attention to Mexicans who remained in territory acquired by the United States and later became U.S. citizens.

Gonzalez also testified in July at congressional hearings alongside Anthea Hartig, director of the National Museum of American History. The Smithsonian declined to comment on his report or remarks, Fox News reported.