Trump Fires National Portrait Gallery Director

The director, Kim Sajet, had served in the role since 2013. Trump says he would soon name a replacement.

Patrons view a portrait of former U.S. President Donald Trump in the America’s Presidents exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery as the Smithsonian Institution begins to slowly re-open its museums in Washington on May 14, 2021. Trump’s portrait, a photograph made by Pari Dukovic, is on display to the public for the first time since the closure of the museums due to the coronavirus pandemic. Win McNamee/Getty Images

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on May 30 announced that he has dismissed the director of the National Portrait Gallery, an institution in Washington known for hosting portraits of U.S. presidents and other artwork.

The National Portrait Gallery is part of the Smithsonian Institution and, along with the American Museum of Art, exhibits the portraits of every U.S. president alongside other prominent artwork by Americans and foreign artists. Famously, the facility houses one of four original “Lansdowne Portraits” of President George Washington, as well as Kehinde Wiley’s widely acclaimed portrait of former President Barack Obama.