2026年7月29日 美国东部时间下午2:38 / 福克斯新闻
对公开履历的审查显示，前自由派幕僚和多元化公平包容（DEI）倡导者如今担任策展人和领导层职务
作者：罗伯特·施马德 福克斯新闻
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随着共和党加大对史密森尼学会的审查力度，这家非营利机构内部众多前民主党幕僚和进步派非营利组织雇员担任着高级职位，而负责招聘的官员则着重推进多元化、公平性和包容性（DEI）举措。
福克斯新闻数字频道对公开履历和社交媒体资料的审查发现，约有24名在史密森尼学会担任领导职务或策展人的人士，在入职前曾为民主党办公室或进步派非营利组织工作。领导层履历和政治捐款记录表明，这种情况并非仅局限于少数几名高级雇员。
前民主党幕僚和曾受雇于自由派非营利组织的人士如今在史密森尼学会担任领导职务，这可能会进一步加剧保守派的批评声音——这家庞大的博物馆和研究机构已形成左翼偏倚。
特朗普下令在史密森尼博物馆外张贴标语，围绕美国历史描述的争议升级
随着共和党加大对史密森尼学会的审查力度，这家非营利机构内部众多前民主党幕僚和进步派非营利组织雇员担任着高级职位。（曼德尔·恩根/法新社通过盖蒂图片社拍摄）
最近几周，共和党指责史密森尼学会，尤其是其国家美国历史博物馆，宣扬进步主义意识形态、强调身份政治，且对美国建国历史和传统历史人物的关注不足。共和党议员和特朗普政府还批评了涉及性别认同、多元化和社会正义的特定展览，认为博物馆领导层允许政治活动取代了历史的中立呈现。
这些指控是在该机构多年来以DEI为核心的领导层背景下出现的。
史密森尼学会学术任命和实习办公室主任罗什尼·拉尔负责学术招聘和实习工作，其职业履历显示，她长期致力于在招聘工作中推进DEI。
根据她在史密森尼学会的官方履历，拉尔此前曾担任山地太平洋高校与雇主协会多元化、公平性和包容性主管，期间负责监督被她描述为反种族主义、根植于社会正义的政策、培训和项目。她的领英页面显示，在加入史密森尼学会之前，她还曾在曼哈顿海滩商会和全国高校与雇主协会担任与DEI相关的职务。
在2024年的一次播客访谈中，拉尔谈到了她对“基于身份的职业服务”的投入，部分工作包括通过“文化包容性”的就业安置服务，与“有色人种学生”建立联系。
史密森尼学会的公开履历显示，国家美国历史博物馆的多位策展人表示，他们的工作聚焦于种族、身份和社会正义，这些主题也出现在该博物馆的多个展览和项目中。
观看：‘令人震惊’的本杰明·富兰克林抹黑言论让史密森尼负责人‘毫无悔意’
史密森尼学会国家美国历史博物馆在美国建国250周年纪念日周末被指责“被意识形态绑架”，并呈现觉醒式修正主义历史。（凯文·卡特拍摄）
例如，负责监督美国总统相关展览的国家美国历史博物馆政治历史部门现任主席，同时还管理着史密森尼学会的“修复历史中心”。该中心在其网站上称，其宗旨是通过汇聚“多元化声音”，运用修复正义原则“ spotlight那些被排除在我们国家叙事之外的人物和故事”。
根据该中心网站信息，其旗舰项目包括一项以活动家视角为核心、旨在保存“黑人的命也是命”运动历史的工作，以及一个“去殖民化工作组”。
根据他们在史密森尼学会的公开履历，国家美国历史博物馆的其他多位策展人在工作中也秉持着类似的种族身份研究焦点。其中一位策展人正通过展览工作“将社会正义理念贯穿美洲大陆”，还有多位学者主要研究种族问题。
拉尔于2023年11月开始在史密森尼学会任职，她的前任从2012年起担任该职位长达11年。根据其领英资料，这位前任曾在克林顿政府白宫、奥巴马政府国务院工作，并担任时任参议员希拉里·克林顿的特别助理。
福克斯新闻数字频道周二联系拉尔请求置评，但未得到回复。
“史密森尼学会是一个无党派机构，政治因素不会影响我们的招聘流程，”该机构的一位发言人告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，“我们的招聘完全基于应聘者是否具备胜任特定岗位职责的资质。”
史密森尼学会的领导层并非清一色的左翼人士。根据该机构的官方履历，该学会的首席法律官曾在布什政府任职，负责摄政者事务的组织办公厅主任曾在最高法院为约翰·G·罗伯茨首席大法官担任书记员，还曾在华盛顿特区联邦上诉法院为布雷特·卡瓦诺大法官担任书记员。
某蓝州穆斯林委员会倡议的DEI招聘举措与特朗普的反觉醒推动背道而驰
华盛顿特区，2025年10月12日——因联邦政府停摆而关闭的史密森尼学会国家美国历史博物馆。（斯特凡妮·雷诺兹/彭博新闻社通过盖蒂图片社拍摄）
国会共和党人举行了两场听证会，调查史密森尼学会国家美国历史博物馆是否使用纳税人资金宣扬关于种族、性别和压迫的左翼叙事，同时淡化美国的建国理念和成就。听证会结束后，保守派议员预计将利用国会的拨款权限制史密森尼学会的资金，以此施压该机构移除他们认为不当的展览。
“这些领导者接管了这个国家托付给他们的机构，本应确保美国文化和遗产的传承与延续，却反常地将其变成了相反的东西——一个反美激进主义的温床，”传统基金会高级研究员迈克·冈萨雷斯在7月21日就史密森尼学会问题发表国会证词时表示。
“这些领导者常常亲口承认，他们用权力动态的视角看待世界——谁拥有主导权，以及如何通过解构美国叙事来夺取权力，这一切都深深植根于马克思主义和葛兰西主义的理论框架。”
根据领英资料和其他在线履历，其他来自左翼背景的史密森尼学会高级职员包括：国家美国历史博物馆首席图书馆员，此前曾在自由派的城市研究所工作；一名顾问委员会成员，曾任已故参议员黛安·范斯坦的高级幕僚；该学会负责教育事务的副部长，曾在奥巴马政府时期担任教育部副助理部长；史密森尼学会战略项目发展副主任，此前就职于美国全国有色人种协进会；以及国家美国历史博物馆通讯主管，在加入该机构前曾担任众议院民主党领导层的高级幕僚。
根据领英资料和在线履历，拥有自由派背景的策展人包括：国家肖像馆新近离任的策展事务主管，曾在高校担任多个与DEI相关的职务；国家美国印第安人博物馆的一名副策展人，在20世纪70年代曾参与激进民权组织美国印第安运动；史密森尼美国艺术博物馆的一名时间媒体策展人，此前曾在一家女权主义艺术画廊工作。
福克斯新闻数字频道在本次审查中将公开支持民主党，或关注环保主义、种族正义或左翼经济政策等议题的组织归类为自由派。
史密森尼学会约有6400名全职雇员，公开资料的详细程度各不相同。福克斯新闻数字频道的审查仅覆盖了其中相对较小的一部分，重点关注该机构顶层的公开认定的领导层、国家美国历史博物馆的负责人，以及在领英上自称策展人的人士。
点击此处下载福克斯新闻APP
虽然仅靠公开记录无法完全了解史密森尼学会高级职员和策展人的政治信仰，但政治捐款可以提供一些线索。
福克斯新闻数字频道审查的竞选财务记录显示，在本选举周期中，自称史密森尼学会雇员的个人捐款中，仅有约1%流向了共和党委员会。
福克斯新闻数字频道已联系本文提及的每位史密森尼学会雇员请求置评。
Former Democratic staffers, DEI leaders shape Smithsonian leadership amid political firestorm
July 29, 2026 2:38pm EDT / Fox News
Review of public biographies reveals former liberal staffers and DEI advocates now serve as curators and leaders
By Robert Schmad Fox News
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As Republicans intensify scrutiny of the Smithsonian Institution, numerous former Democratic staffers and employees of progressive nonprofits are holding senior positions throughout the nonprofit, while officials responsible for hiring emphasized diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
A Fox News Digital review of public biographies and social media profiles identified roughly two dozen individuals employed by the Smithsonian in leadership positions or as curators who worked for Democratic offices or progressive nonprofits before being hired. Leadership biographies and political donation records indicate the pattern extends beyond a handful of senior employees.
That former Democratic staffers and individuals previously employed by liberal nonprofits now hold leadership positions at the Smithsonian is likely to further fuel conservative criticism that the sprawling museum and research organization has developed a left-of-center bias.
TRUMP ORDERS SIGNS OUTSIDE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM AMID ROW OVER ITS DEPICTION OF AMERICAN HISTORY
As Republicans intensify scrutiny of the Smithsonian Institution, numerous former Democratic staffers and employees of progressive nonprofits hold senior positions throughout the nonprofit.(Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
In recent weeks, Republicans have accused the Smithsonian, particularly its National Museum of American History, of promoting progressive ideology, emphasizing identity politics and giving insufficient attention to the nation’s founding and traditional historical figures. Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration also have criticized specific exhibits addressing gender identity, diversity and social justice, arguing that museum leaders have allowed political activism to displace the neutral presentation of history.
These allegations follow years of DEI-centric leadership.
Roshni Lal, the director of the Smithsonian’s office of academic appointments and internships, which oversees academic hiring and internships, has had a career-long commitment to advancing DEI in hiring, professional biographies show.
Lal previously was the director of diversity, equity and inclusion for the Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges & Employers, where she oversaw policies, training and programming she characterized as anti-racist and rooted in social justice, according to her Smithsonian biography. She also held DEI-related roles at the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Colleges and Employers before joining the Smithsonian, per Lal’s LinkedIn page.
In a 2024 podcast appearance, Lal discussed her dedication to “identity-based career services,” partially through connecting with “students of color” through “culturally inclusive” job placement.
Public Smithsonian biographies show that several curators at the National Museum of American History describe their work as focusing on race, identity and social justice, themes that also appear in a number of the museum’s exhibits and initiatives.
WATCH: ‘SHOCKING’ BEN FRANKLIN SMEAR LEAVES SMITHSONIAN CHIEF WITH ‘NO REGRETS’
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is being called out for being “ideologically captured” and presenting woke revisionist history on the weekend of America’s 250th birthday.(Kevin Carter)
The current chairwoman of the National Museum of American History political history division, which is responsible for overseeing exhibits about American presidents, for instance, also oversees the Smithsonian’s Center for Restorative History, which says on its website that it exists to “spotlight the people and stories that have been excluded from our national narrative using the principles of restorative justice” by bringing together “diverse voices.”
Among the center’s flagship programs are an effort to preserve the history of the Black Lives Matter movement by centering the perspectives of activists and a “decolonization working group,” according to its website.
Multiple other curators at the National Museum of American History approach their jobs with a similar focus on racial identity, per their Smithsonian biographies. These include one curator who is working on “stitching social justice throughout the Americas” through their exhibit work as well as multiple scholars who primarily study race.
While Lal started her role at the Smithsonian in November 2023, her predecessor, who held the position for 11 years beginning in 2012, previously worked for the Clinton White House, the Obama State Department and as a special assistant to then-Sen. Hillary Clinton, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Lal did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital Tuesday.
“The Smithsonian is a nonpartisan institution, and politics does not factor into our hiring practices,” a spokesperson for the institution told Fox News Digital. “Our hiring is solely based on qualifications to fulfill the responsibilities of any given position.”
Leadership at the Smithsonian is not monolithic. The institution’s chief legal officer worked in the Bush administration, and the chief of staff to the organization’s regents clerked for Chief Justice John G. Roberts on the Supreme Court as well as Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his time on D.C.’s federal appellate court, according to their institutional biographies.
DEI HIRING BOOST FOR ONE BLUE STATE’S MUSLIM COMMISSION INITIATIVE FLIES IN FACE OF TRUMP’S ANTI-WOKE PUSH
The Smithsonian National Museum of American History, which is closed due to the federal government shutdown, in Washington, D.C., Oct. 12, 2025.(Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Congressional Republicans held two hearings to investigate allegations that the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has used taxpayer money to promote left-wing narratives about race, gender and oppression while minimizing the nation’s founding ideals and achievements. Following the hearings, conservative lawmakers are expected to be using Congress’ spending authority in an attempt to restrict Smithsonian funding to pressure it to remove exhibits they feel are inappropriate.
“These leaders have commandeered an institution that the nation entrusted to them to ensure the transmission and, thus, continuance of American culture and heritage and have perversely turned it into its opposite, a hothouse for anti-American activism,” Heritage Foundation senior fellow Mike Gonzalez said during his July 21 congressional testimony on the Smithsonian.
“These leaders often reveal, in their own words, that they see the world in terms of power dynamics — who has dominance and how to wrest it from them by dismantling the American narrative, all deeply Marxist and Gramscian constructs.”
Other senior Smithsonian staffers who came from left-of-center backgrounds, according to LinkedIn profiles and other online biographies, include the National Museum of American History head librarian, who previously worked for the liberal Urban Institute; an advisory board member who was a senior staffer for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein; the institution’s undersecretary for education, who served as the deputy assistant secretary of education during the Obama administration; the Smithsonian’s associate director of advancement for strategic initiatives, who came from the NAACP; and the director of communications for the National Museum of American History, who worked as a senior staffer for House Democratic leadership before joining the institution.
Curators with liberal backgrounds, per LinkedIn profiles and online biographies,meanwhile, include the recently departed director of curatorial affairs at the National Portrait Gallery, who held multiple DEI-related positions at colleges; an associate curator at the National Museum of the American Indian who was involved with a militant civil rights organization in the 1970s, the American Indian Movement; and a curator of time-based media for the Smithsonian American Art Museum who previously worked for a feminist art gallery.
Fox News Digital considered groups that publicly align with the Democratic Party or those that focus on issues such as environmentalism, racial justice or left-of-center economic policy as liberal for the purposes of its review.
The Smithsonian has roughly 6,400 full-time employees with varying degrees of public documentation. Fox News Digital’s review covered a relatively small slice of that total, focusing on publicly identified leadership at the top of the institution as well as leaders at the National Museum of American History and individuals identifying themselves as curators on LinkedIn.
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While a full accounting of the political beliefs of the Smithsonian’s senior staff and curators is impossible to glean from public records alone, political donations can provide some insight.
Only about 1% of donations made by individuals identifying themselves as Smithsonian employees have gone to Republican committees this cycle, according to campaign finance records reviewed by Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital reached each Smithsonian employee mentioned for comment.