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Washington Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Defying Trump, National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet is still at work
President Donald Trump's latest attempt to assert control over an elite American cultural institution has turned into a high-stakes Washington stand-off. In defiance of Trump's announcement last Friday that he was firing her, Kim Sajet — the director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery — has continued to report for work, conducting meetings and handling other museum business as she did before, according to several people familiar with her activities who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter. Writing on Truth Social, Trump had declared he is firing Sajet because she 'is a highly partisan person' and because she is a 'strong supporter of DEI,' a reference to diversity, equity and inclusion. He said her replacement would be named shortly. Trump has not provided a legal reasoning to support his authority to fire Sajet. Two top congressional Democrats have asserted the president does not have legal authority for the firing. In a joint statement, House Administration Committee ranking Democrat Joe Morelle of New York and House Appropriations Committee ranking Democrat Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut said: 'President Trump has no authority to fire employees of the Smithsonian Institution — including the Director of the National Portrait Gallery. The dismissal of Director Sajet is unacceptable and has the same legal weight as the President's prior attempts to undermine the Smithsonian's independence: absolutely none. Should the White House require a copy of the Constitution, we would be more than happy to provide one.' Sajet's refusal to abide by Trump's decision sets up a test of the bounds of presidential authority over the Smithsonian, a sprawling complex of 21 museums, 14 education and research centers and the National Zoo. It is not a traditional government agency nor part of the executive branch, and hiring and firing decisions have historically been handled by the Smithsonian's secretary, rather than its Board of Regents. The Smithsonian's current secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch III, is widely expected to discuss the president's attempt to oust Sajet when regents meet next Monday. In an only-in-Washington twist, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. — who has been presented with major questions at the Supreme Court regarding the limits of presidential authority since Trump took office — is the chancellor of the Smithsonian and a member of its board. A Trump White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Smithsonian spokesperson declined to comment. In February, Trump made another foray into American arts when he took over control of the Kennedy Center, dismissing his predecessor's appointees to its board, who then installed him as chairman and replaced the institution's director with a political ally with scant experience in the arts. The Smithsonian differs from the Kennedy Center because presidents don't appoint members to its board, which is composed of a mix of officials from all three branches of government and members of the public. But Trump is not without allies on the Smithsonian board, including Vice President JD Vance who, like Roberts, is an ex-officio member. Trump's move against Sajet follows an executive order he issued on March 27 titled 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,' which aims to 'restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness.' A 35-year-old special assistant and senior associate staff secretary, Lindsey Halligan, was among the order's architects — instigated, in part, by her early-2025 visit to the show 'The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture,' an exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which shares a building with the Portrait Gallery. The order calls for Halligan and Vice President JD Vance to 'remove improper ideology' from the Smithsonian and 'prohibit expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race.' 'President Trump's attempt to fire the National Portrait Gallery Director is outrageous and represents yet another disturbing example of his relentless effort to control American art and culture,' said Rep. Chellie Pingree (Maine), ranking Democrat of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees the Smithsonian, in a statement. 'Despite what the President may think, America's cultural institutions are not run by dictatorial impulses.' On Tuesday a White House official provided The Post a list of 17 instances in which, the White House argued, Sajet was critical of Trump or outspoken about her support for diversity, equity and inclusion. The list included her donations to Democratic politicians and advocacy groups; a social media post praising Anthony Fauci; the caption for the museum's presidential portrait of Trump mentioning his two impeachments and 'incitement of insurrection' for the events of Jan. 6, 2021; and numerous quotes from interviews in a variety of publications about her efforts to represent a broad swath of Americans within the gallery's walls. One item on the list was a quote in a 2019 USA Today story about Black artists demanding representation in American artistic institutions: 'We owe it to Americans to reflect them because we owe it to accurate history,' Sajet says. 'I'm not interested in only having a museum for some people.' The list additionally took issue with remarks Sajet has made in support of the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, and criticism of Columbus Day and her rejection of one artist's 2016 portrait of Trump as 'too political.' It notes that Sajet has commissioned artworks about Mexican immigration and 'the complications of ancestral and racial history.' It was critical of her 2013 decision to use '50 percent of all money spent on art' to 'support diverse artists and portrait subjects.' Since its founding 179 years ago, the Smithsonian, which receives about 60 percent of its budget from federal appropriations and grants, has generally operated independently, although there have been several controversies in which museums have altered exhibitions in response to outside criticisms, including from politicians. Museum directors, such as Sajet — holders of some of the most prestigious positions in American arts — are not paid with federal funds, instead drawing their salaries from the Smithsonian's trust fund. Hours after Trump's post, Bunch told Smithsonian staff in an email obtained by The Washington Post that the White House also sent new details of proposed cuts to the institution's budget, slashing it by 12 percent and excluding funding for its Anacostia Community Museum and its forthcoming National Museum of the American Latino, Bunch said. On Saturday, at the Portrait Gallery and SAAM's joint family Pride celebration, a trio of visitors strolled the central courtyard in neon vests emblazoned with 'Hands off the arts' on the back — closely watched by a Smithsonian staff member, who hovered nearby. 'I'm outraged' by Sajet's firing, said Karen Nussbaum, 75, of Washington. 'There's a place for a political expression in art, but not political control of art.' 'I think the next step is controlling what artists think and do,' said Cynthia Cain, 60, of Washington, 'and that's not acceptable.' Sophia Nguyen and Janay Kingsberry contributed to this report.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Democrats Troll Trump With Taco Jokes Amid Tariff Chaos
California Gov. Gavin Newsom led the charge Thursday as Democrats mocked President Donald Trump's tariff policies being thrown into disarray by federal judges. Speaking to the MeidasTouch podcast, Newsom weighed in on court rulings delivered within the past 24 hours that invalidated Trump's tariffs and quipped: 'It's raining tacos today.' 'It's not a good day for Donald Trump and his central economic program,' he continued. 'We're very, very pleased at this moment, this brief moment.' Newsom's taco zinger was a reference to the TACO acronym Wall Street investors have been using to degrade the president's oscillating tariff policies. The acronym stands for 'Trump always chickens out,' and was scrutinized by the president in a press conference Wednesday. Several other Democrats also followed suit with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis telling Politico Thursday that the court move against Trump's tariffs is 'the most substantial for our economy, for our prosperity.' Democratic New York Rep. Joe Morelle similarly told the outlet, 'It's interesting watching the president flail around here; he proposes tariffs and then he backs off.' 'If this is people's idea of a master negotiator, I don't know what people think a bad negotiator is,' he continued. Jon Cooper, a former campaign chair for Barack Obama, also hinged on Trump's Wall Street taco nickname in a celebratory X post Wednesday shortly after the U.S. Court of International Trade struck down his tariff policies. 'A special poem for #TacoTrump,' Cooper wrote alongside a diss poem titled 'Trump Always Chickens Out (Tariff Remix).' The U.S. Court of International Trade struck down Trump's tariffs Wednesday night, saying that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 Trump invoked when announcing his tariffs in April does not grant him 'unbounded authority.' A second federal court similarly countered the president's tariffs in a ruling Thursday, with D.C. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras again reiterating that Trump's emergency claims do 'not authorize the President to impose the tariffs set forth.' The Trump administration swiftly appealed the rulings. A federal appeals court has since temporarily reinstated Trump's tariffs as it considers the administration's request to keep the tariffs in place while litigation ensues. The decision exclusively applies to the Court of International Trade's ruling. Trump responded to the court rulings in a Truth Social post Thursday night, posting: 'Radical Left Judges, together with some very bad people, are destroying America. Under this decision, Trillions of Dollars would be lost by our Country, money that will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.' 'It would be the harshest financial ruling ever leveled on us as a Sovereign Nation,' he continued. 'The President of the United States must be allowed to protect America against those that are doing it Economic and Financial harm.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State lawmakers react to House passage of Pres. Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – Following the US House's passage of President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, our local representatives on both sides of the aisle are answering questions as to how exactly this would affect the everyday lives of New Yorkers. The package presents sweeping tax cuts, Medicaid reform, and changes to immigration spending. It passed the House by a narrow vote of 215 to 214 Thursday, and will now go to the Senate, which has brought forward plans of making changes. 'It's probably the worst budget in American history. It cuts back a trillion dollars on health care, nutritional systems for the poor, for the elderly, for children, all in the effort to get a large multi-trillion-dollar tax cut to the wealthiest people in the US,' said Rep. Joe Morelle, who represents New York's 25th Congressional District. There is significant pushback from Democrats, and Rep. Morelle says among direct hits to New Yorkers relying on Medicaid or programs like SNAP benefits, he also expects to see closures of rural hospitals and longer wait times at emergency rooms across the country. Republican NYS Assemblymember Josh Jensen says there is still time to reform aspects of the federal plan. 'There's still a lot of time. There's still a lot of deliberation. I think a lot of people are hearing calls of panic. I understand the concern, especially when you look at the impact to New York State's appropriation, which would be about $10 billion. I think we can have more conversations about that. I think the state should be taking the lead on a lot of this by putting some guardrails on it without creating a fiscal cliff or crisis for families. But, we should be having the conversation,' said Asm. Jensen, who represents New York's 134th Assembly District. As the plan goes before the US Senate, both the Senate and the House must pass identical pieces of legislation. 'My expectation is they're going to move quick. That's what the President has asked the Senate to do and asked for Congress as a whole to do. Certainly, if the federal government makes a spending plan that affects our state budget, we're going to have to go back and figure out, 'How are we going to react?'' said Jensen. State lawmakers have four weeks left of legislative session in Albany, where these conversations with state and federal partners will continue. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Jewish community leaders recognized for service in Rochester
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Three members of the Jewish community were recognized for their service to the Greater Rochester area at an event commemorating Jewish American Heritage Month on Friday. Congressman Joe Morelle joined representatives from the Jewish Federation of Rochester and local Jewish organizations to present framed Statements of Congressional Record to those honored. 'Here in Rochester and across the nation, Jewish leaders, neighbors, and changemakers are making a difference every day–lifting others up, standing strong in the face of adversity, and enriching our shared. This month is a time to celebrate those contributions and these selfless individuals' strength, compassion, and service that continue to inspire us all,' Morelle said in a statement on Friday. The honorees included Nathan Robfogel, Monica Gurell, and Rabbi Alan Katz. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump sacked Copyright Office director a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Musk's plan to train AI models, top Dem says
Rep. Joe Morelle has denounced President Trump's removal of Shira Perlmutter as an unprecedented power grab, suggesting it was done following a report that found that AI companies sometimes breach copyright laws. Major AI firms like OpenAI, which Elon Musk cofounded, are facing ongoing lawsuits over alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted materials in their model training. A top Democrat has called the recent firing of Director of the U.S. Copyright Office, Shira Perlmutter, "a brazen, unprecedented power grab." In a press release, Rep. Joe Morelle said: 'Donald Trump's termination of Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis. It is surely no coincidence he acted less than a day after she refused to rubber-stamp Elon Musk's efforts to mine troves of copyrighted works to train AI models." 'Register Perlmutter is a patriot, and her tenure has propelled the Copyright Office into the 21st century by comprehensively modernizing its operations and setting global standards on the intersection of AI and intellectual property," he said in the statement, adding the action violates Congress's Article One authority and risks throwing a trillion-dollar industry into chaos. In the statement, Morelle pointed to a newly released draft from the U.S. Copyright Office—part three of a broader series—examining the intersection of intellectual property and AI. The document warns that AI companies shouldn't assume 'fair use' automatically covers their training on copyrighted materials. However, it suggests that academic research and critical examination are permissible. The report did not call for government intervention but it did note that mass commercial use of copyrighted works—particularly via unauthorized access—may exceed fair use limits. The report said that "making commercial use of vast troves of copyrighted works to produce expressive content that competes with them in existing markets, especially where this is accomplished through illegal access, goes beyond established fair use boundaries." Perlmutter has been in the role since October 2020, during the first Trump administration, and has advised Congress on copyright policy. In a post on Facebook over the weekend, the American Federation of Musicians union said that Perlmutter's firing "will gravely harm the entire copyright community." Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fortune. Copyright issues have long been a thorn in the side of leading AI companies, including OpenAI. The company is currently fighting several lawsuits accusing it of copyright infringement during the training of AI models. In December 2023, The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing the company of training ChatGPT on its articles without permission and alleging that the models reproduce large portions of its content. Earlier that year, Getty Images filed suit against Stability AI—the company behind Stable Diffusion—claiming they ingested over 12 million protected photographs and metadata to build their AI image‐generation tools. Recently, several tech companies and industry leaders have been pushing the Trump Administration to consider loosening intellectual property constraints for training data. In its recent "AI Action Plan," OpenAI urged the U.S. government to codify 'fair use' protections for AI development, calling for a copyright strategy that protects "American AI models' ability to learn from copyrighted material." 'America has so many AI startups, attracts so much investment, and has made so many research breakthroughs largely because the fair use doctrine promotes AI development,' OpenAI wrote. Musk, who heads up the AI company behind Grok, has also supported a looser approach to intellectual property. In a post on X last month, Musk threw his weight behind a statement from Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter (now X), that said, 'delete all IP law.' In a reply, Musk said: 'I agree.' This story was originally featured on
