GOP senator breaks with Trump over 'woke' Smithsonian history battle

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. President Donald Trump orders warning signs outside the Smithsonian, alleging politicized exhibits that emphasize activism over history. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is splitting from the majority of Republicans on the GOP's pushback against the Smithsonian Institution's teaching of American history. The moderate Republican senator sent a letter to the Trump administration alongside Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., asking for more information on President Donald Trump's directive to install "temporary signage" outside the National Museum of American History, after he accused the museum of teaching historical accounts with an inaccurate and hyper-partisan lens. "As Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, we write to express our concern and to request more information regarding the role the Department of the Interior (D