The Smithsonian says it retains the authority over personnel such as the director of the National Portrait Gallery, whose firing the president had announced.
Lonnie G. Bunch III, the secretary of the Smithsonian, has had to navigate a recognition of presidential power while defending the institution’s autonomy.
The shrunken staff remains responsible for the 26,000 artworks entrusted to the General Services Administration that are housed in hundreds of buildings around the country.
Login
