President Donald Trump intensified his push to impose a more positive view of American history by moving to curb the independence of the Smithsonian Institution, which he wants to make into a “symbol of inspiration and American greatness.”

In an executive order, Trump took aim at what he described as a “revisionist movement” across the country that “seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.” His order claimed that the Smithsonian had “come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology” and that it promotes “narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.”

Trump does not directly control the Smithsonian, which is governed by a Board of Regents, which includes a mixture of Democrats and Republicans, and is overseen by Congress. In the order he called on Vice President JD Vance, who is a member of the Smithsonian’s board, to work with Congress to prohibit expenditures on exhibitions or programs that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans by race or promote ideologies inconsistent with federal law.” His executive order also called for making sure that the Smithsonian’s American Women’s History Museum, which is under development, does not “recognize men as women in any respect.”

The Smithsonian, which has 21 museums, libraries, research centers and the National Zoo, appeared to be caught off guard by the order. When contacted Thursday evening, several leaders said they were just learning about the new order themselves.

A spokesperson for the Smithsonian declined to comment.

In another passage of the order, Trump directed the secretary of the Interior Department, which oversees the National Park Service, to determine whether, since 2020, “public monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties within the Department of the Interior’s jurisdiction have been removed or changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history.”