What is the Smithsonian Institution and why is it important?

A Trump executive order aims to uproot anti-American ideology' from the US museum and research complex

On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting the Smithsonian Institution, a behemoth of a research and museum organization that operates more than 20 museum and research centers and is visited by millions of people each year, mainly in Washington DC and New York City. The museums include the National Museum of African Art, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), which Trump name-checked in his executive order. Trump's executive order instructs Vice-President JD Vance to eliminate improper, divisive or anti-American ideology" from the Smithsonian's museums.

The Smithsonian has already come under scrutiny by Trump and his allies. Earlier this year, the institution was forced to close its diversity office and froze all federal hiring.