President Trump dismissed Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery, last week, citing concerns over her political bias and her focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Sajet’s removal marks the latest in a string of high-profile firings by Trump targeting leaders of major cultural institutions in Washington.
“Upon the request and recommendation of many people, I am hereby terminating the employment of Kim Sajet as Director of the National Portrait Gallery,” Trump wrote Friday on social media. “She is a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position. Her replacement will be named shortly.”
The Smithsonian Institution, which manages the National Portrait Gallery, declined to comment on the dismissal. Sajet, a Nigerian-born Dutch citizen raised in Australia, had led the museum since 2013, becoming its first female director.
Before joining the Portrait Gallery, Sajet held several leadership roles in the arts, including president and CEO of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, vice president and deputy director of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and director of corporate relations at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She also served as a curator and later as director at two art museums in Australia prior to relocating to the United States in 1997, the Washington Times reported.
Earlier this year, Trump removed the leadership of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and appointed his own selections to take their place. He also named himself chairman of the board. “Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP. The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation,” he wrote on social media in February. “For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”
Trump recently dismissed Carla Hayden from her position as Librarian of Congress, citing her promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and the inclusion of what the administration described as “inappropriate books” for children.
“We felt she did not fit the needs of the American people. There were quite concerning things that she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI and putting inappropriate books in the library for children,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.