President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday instructing federal agencies to restore US memorials that were deleted during former President Joe Biden’s term, and scrub “anti-American ideology” from national museums, parks and memorials.
order The Secretary of the Interior will direct the revival of historical markers and statues taken after January 1, 2020, and will task Vice President JD Vance, who will be responsible for reviewing and reversing the “schismatic” DEI initiative at the Smithsonian facility. It also prohibits taxpayer funding for exhibitions that “shared American values” or promote racially-based narratives that contradict federal law. (Related: Army begins to demolish Confederate Memorial at Arlington Cemetery despite opposition)
“In the last decade, Americans have witnessed a coordinated and broad-ranging effort to rewrite our country’s history, rebuilt as essentially racist, sexist, oppressive or irreparably flawed,” reads Order. “It is my administration’s policy to restore a history-focused federal site, including parks and museums, to public memorials that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage and consistent progress to become a more complete union.”
I have permitted the federal government to arrest anyone who destroys or destroys a memorial, statue or other federal property in a prison for up to 10 years in accordance with the Veterans Memorial Preservation Act or any other law that may be related.
– Donald J. Trump (@RealdonaldTrump) June 23, 2020
Among the possible revival monuments is the Confederate Reconciliation Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. Dismantling Under the Biden administration in 2023. The statue has become a flashpoint in recent years as activists accused them of praise the Confederate forces. The memorial was eventually removed after recommendations by the Congressional Duty Naming Committee, which was established in the wake of national riots and widespread vandalism following the death of George Floyd in 2020. (Related: DC Mayor accepts reports calling for the removal or contextualization of the Washington Memorial)
The order applies to other federally administered properties, such as Civil War battlefields, presidential locations, and National Park Service locations.
Trump’s instructions singled the Museum of African American History and Culture to connect concepts such as individualism and nuclear family to “white culture,” and criticize the American Women’s History Museum for its plans to “recognize men as women.”
“The museums in our country’s capital should be a place where individuals go to learn, rather than being exposed to divisive narratives,” the order reads.
The order also calls for the appointment of citizens to the Smithsonian committees and the duties of top national aides Vince Haley and Lindsay Harrigan to ensure that Congressional budgets reflect the new mission.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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