The Trump administration has proposed the Smithsonian Institution’s leanest budget in nearly a decade, along with staff reductions, as its campaign against the museum over its ideological direction takes an expected turn. Related Articles 7 Smithsonian Museums Abruptly Closed Over Mechanical Issue An America250 IndyCar Race Will Pass By DC's Museums. The proposal would provide $841.3 million for salaries and operating expenses and $120 million for facilities and capital projects. “Our national fundraising campaign, only the second such Institution-wide effort in the history of the Smithsonian, is helping us advance these goals. In July, Smithsonian National Museum of American History Director Anthea M. Hartig faced two contentious congressional hearings over a White House report that accused the museum’s programs and exhibitions of “extreme political activism.”