Tuesday was a jaw-dropping day on Capitol Hill as Republicans exposed just how anti-American and hyper-woke the taxpayer-funded (to the tune of $1 billion annually) Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History (NMAH) has become.
The House held a hearing following the release of a 162-page report titled, "Saving America’s Story: How Ideological Capture at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History Erases Our Heritage," which, as my colleague Becky Noble reported, found that the museum has become an institution of "ideological capture" and "extreme political activism."
Meanwhile, RedState’s Sister Toldjah brought you the almost comical rhetorical slicing and dicing of Director Dr. Anthea Hartig by Rep. Brandon Gill (TX-26) as he grilled her over why the museum was pushing garbage like politeness is a "defining aspect of white supremacy culture" and an exhibit that claimed Mickey Mouse was racist.
Classic stuff — and a total exposure of the rot tolerated by Hartig.
Smithsonian Museum of History Has Become 'Prime Tool of Social Justice' at Taxpayer Expense
But there was another moment that jolted viewers who had believed that the Smithsonian was just a beloved museum, and not a far-left political outfit. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin may have conducted electrical experiments on enslaved people, you see, at least according to an exhibit called The Electric Dr. Franklin that ran from 2021 to 2025. The subtitle was the provocative, Enslaved People in Franklin’s Research?
The problem? There’s not a shred of evidence to back up such a shocking claim.
Heritage Foundation senior fellow Mike Gonzalez testified to the panel that the museum had impugned Franklin’s name with zero proof. "Why smear a Founding Father such as Ben Franklin by pondering such a really bizarre thing?" he asked.
The Smithsonian's History Museum smears Franklin by pondering if he ever subjected his indentured servants and slaves to electroshocks, without offering a hint of evidence. Disgusting:
— Mike Gonzalez (@Gundisalvus) July 22, 2026
"Researchers also used people as conductors to determine how far an electrical charge might… https://t.co/mIB9q8gtT6
The Smithsonian's History Museum smears Franklin by pondering if he ever subjected his indentured servants and slaves to electroshocks, without offering a hint of evidence. Disgusting:
"Researchers also used people as conductors to determine how far an electrical charge might travel, and if electrical effects would fade with distance. Franklin wrote about experiments in which he took shocks and used family and friends in these ways, although he seldom identified who in particular assisted him. Indentured servants and enslaved people in his household could also have been used, although we may never know for certain."
The exhibit’s website, which is still online, said that testing electricity on other people was a common practice at the time, and that in his reports Franklin vaguely referred to sometimes convincing friends and family members to help out. However, he may have done something else: “The records are few and unclear, but enslaved people may also have directly assisted his research.”
He “may” have flown to the moon, too, but there’s absolutely nothing on the record to suggest that. But channeling its inner Dan Rather, the museum points out that it could have happened: “That assistant could also have been an indentured servant or an enslaved person, although he never mentioned them in reports of his work.”
Despite making such a serious allegation, they admit that they actually have no clue: “Indentured servants and enslaved people in his household could also have been used, although we may never know for certain.”
What claptrap.
Following Gonzalez’s testimony, GOP Rep. Brian Jack (GA-3) asked Hartig if she ever questioned herself, but like a good leftist, she had zero apologies to give.
"I don't have any regrets."
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 23, 2026
The director of the @smithsonian's National Museum of American History is under fire after defending the museum's exhibits during a tense House hearing.
When Republican Rep. Brian Jack asked whether she regretted any exhibits displayed during her… pic.twitter.com/GR4tiJ2HQn
"I don't have any regrets."
The director of the @smithsonian's National Museum of American History is under fire after defending the museum's exhibits during a tense House hearing.
When Republican Rep. Brian Jack asked whether she regretted any exhibits displayed during her tenure, director Anthea Hartig replied, "I am incredibly proud of the work we've done... But I don't have any regrets." Pressed on what mistakes had been made, Hartig said, "There are always factual errors."
The exchange came moments after Heritage Foundation senior fellow Mike Gonzalez blasted a museum exhibit suggesting Benjamin Franklin may have conducted electrical experiments on indentured servants or enslaved people — despite, he said, offering "no evidence whatsoever."
Unfortunately, Trump can’t fire this AWFL because she serves at the pleasure of the Smithsonian Secretary (with Board oversight). Hartig did say the museum takes the “concerns raised in the… report seriously,” but also argued that the criticisms do “fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum."
In other words, she ain’t changing a thing.
That doesn’t mean Republicans are powerless though: they have two ways to apply pressure. 1) Vice President JD Vance is ex officio Regent and can push priorities inside the Board, and 2) there’s always the power of the purse. Congress funds the museum, and they can threaten to cut off the moolah if their demands are not met.
If the museum won’t clean up this mess, then yank their money.
