Daily Headlines: Arts Thomas Kinkade family threatens legal action after DHS uses late artist’s painting without permission to promote anti-immigrant message. July 30, 2025 View Details A House subcommittee has advanced a proposal to rename the Kennedy Center opera house for Melania Trump, months after the president took control of the institution’s board. July 23, 2025 View Details With Vice President JD Vance breaking a tie, the Senate advanced a Trump-backed plan to rescind $1.1 billion in previously approved funding for public media. July 16, 2025 View Details Phoenix billboard depicts Trump as shirtless “Swamp King” surrounded by a MAGA alligator and Tesla with swastika. July 8, 2025 View Details Second anti-Trump statue appears on National Mall, features gold TV playing loop of Trump dancing. June 27, 2025 View Details Trump has historic White House Rose Garden bulldozed to pave over space created by Ellen Wilson and redesigned by Jackie Kennedy. June 21, 2025 View Details “Dictator Approved” statue appears on National Mall showing gold thumb crushing Statue of Liberty, featuring quotes from Putin and Kim Jong Un praising Trump. June 19, 2025 View Details GAO finds Trump administration’s second violation of federal spending law after cutting library and museum funding by more than half despite congressional approval. June 17, 2025 View Details National Portrait Gallery director steps down two weeks after Trump claims he fired her for partisan content, despite Smithsonian initially asserting president lacks authority over museum personnel. June 14, 2025 View Details Smithsonian board asserts independence after Trump claimed he fired National Portrait Gallery director, stating Secretary Bunch makes all personnel decisions with board oversight. June 10, 2025 View Details Federal judge clears way for Trump to dismantle Institute of Museum and Library Services, reversing earlier order as ongoing legal battles continue over agency funding libraries nationwide. June 7, 2025 View Details National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet defies Trump’s firing order and continues working as Smithsonian Board of Regents prepares to meet Monday to address presidential overreach. June 5, 2025 View Details Trump fires Kim Sajet, National Portrait Gallery director since 2013, for allegedly promoting DEI and being “highly partisan” and “totally inappropriate” for the position. May 31, 2025 View Details Bruce Springsteen releases EP calling Trump administration “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous” as Trump shares meme showing himself hitting Springsteen with golf ball. May 22, 2025 View Details Trump vows to “turn around” Kennedy Center at White House dinner with loyalist board members, criticizes “phantom revenue” and previous “woke” programming. May 20, 2025 View Details Trump posts online telling Springsteen to “KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT” until he returns to U.S. and “then we’ll all see how it goes for him” after musician called president corrupt and treasonous. May 17, 2025 View Details Oregon Humanities and state councils sue Trump administration over terminated federal funding they claim violates congressional appropriations and separation of powers. May 17, 2025 View Details Dutch museum director reconsiders loaning artwork to U.S. museums due to Trump administration’s proposed funding cuts. May 9, 2025 View Details Trump nominated Mary Anne Carter to reassume leadership of the National Endowment for the Arts. May 9, 2025 Trump appoints 5 allies to Holocaust museum board, including ‘Real Housewives’ star and political consultant. May 8, 2025 View Details Every arts director at the National Endowment for the Arts exits as Trump administration pushes to shutter the agency. May 8, 2025 View Details Federal judge blocks Trump plan to slash funding for library, minority business, and labor mediation agencies. May 7, 2025 View Details R.E.M. reissues 1981 debut single to support Radio Free Europe after Trump admin freezes funding. May 3, 2025 View Details Trump proposes 2026 budget eliminating NEA, NEH, CPB, and other cultural agencies. May 3, 2025 View Details Rev. Amos Brown says Smithsonian notified him it may return his civil rights artifacts during Trump-ordered review of African American museum. May 2, 2025 View Details Kennedy Center cancellations following Trump board takeover lead World Pride DC to relocate Pride week events. April 26, 2025 View Details White House Easter Egg Roll draws thousands as Trump solicits corporate sponsorship for first time in event’s history. April 22, 2025 View Details After firing staff and canceling nearly all humanities grants, the Trump administration will use federal arts funding to build its long-promised “Garden of American Heroes”—a patriotic sculpture park celebrating historical figures in “realistic” form. April 11, 2025 View Details Kevin Young resigns as director of Smithsonian’s African American museum weeks after being placed on leave, as Trump targets institution. April 5, 2025 View Details Trump White House posts AI meme of ICE arrest in Studio Ghibli anime style, using viral trend to mock deportations. March 30, 2025 View Details White House Correspondents Association cancels comedian Amber Ruffin after post-inauguration booking, following backlash from Trump’s deputy chief of staff. March 30, 2025 View Details Trump orders Vance to purge ‘race-centered ideology’ from Smithsonian, block funds for exhibits that defy federal policy March 28, 2025 View Details Trump complains his Colorado Capitol portrait is distorted and demands it be taken down, saying Obama’s looked “wonderful” by comparison. March 25, 2025 View Details U.S. restricts Canadian access to historic border-straddling library, sparking backlash in Quebec tow March 22, 2025 View Details Trump chairs Kennedy Center board, trashes venue, floats honoring politicians, suggests himself as host. March 18, 2025 View Details Semisonic Slams Use of ‘Closing Time’ in White House Immigration Video: ‘They Have Missed the Point Entirely’ March 18, 2025 View Details Trump to address Kennedy Center board Monday as he pushes for more control over honoree selection. March 16, 2025 View Details
