Smithsonian to put Latino museum in existing building, bypassing Congress approval
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Signage at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 30, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - The Smithsonian Institution approved on Monday the conversion of one of its buildings into the National Museum of the American Latino, which will enable it to bypass congressional approval for a new site.
FURTHER DETAILS:
• "Today, the Smithsonian Board of Regents designated the Arts and Industries Building as the permanent site of the National Museum of the American Latino," the Smithsonian said in a statement.
• The board voted to house the museum in the Arts and Industries Building owned by the Smithsonian instead of building it on a site owned by the National Park Service that would require approval from Congress where President Donald Trump's Republican Party holds a majority.
• Congress authorized the museum in December 2020. It opened a temporary space at the National Museum of American History in 2022.
• The Trump administration has repeatedly attacked the Smithsonian, which historians and civil rights advocates say risks undermining the acknowledgement of critical phases of U.S. history.
• Trump's executive budget this year stripped out funding for a Latino museum in favor of creating a decentralized Smithsonian Latino Center that would present exhibitions across some museums, The New York Times reported.
• The newspaper reported raising money to retrofit the Arts and Industries Building for the Latino museum remains a hurdle for the project expected to cost $1 billion.
• The Smithsonian is a vast museum and research complex and a premier exhibition space for U.S. history and culture.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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