President Trump has announced that he has fired the director of the National Portrait Gallery Kim Sajet.
In a post to his Truth Social, the president said: ‘Upon the request and recommendation of many people, I am herby terminating the employment of Kim Sajet as Director of the National Portrait Gallery.
‘She is a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position.
‘Her replacement will be named shortly. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’
Sajet, a Dutch citizen raised in Australia, was appointed to the post in 2013 when President Barack Obama was in office.
It is not immediately clear if the president has the power to dismiss the gallery’s director.
The gallery, founded by Congress in 1962, operates under the Smithsonian Institution which in turn is funded through a mix of private and public money. Federal funding makes up 62 percent of its backing, according to its website.
Sajet,seen here, was appointed to the post in 2013 by President Barack Obama
It is not immediately clear if the president has the power to dismiss the gallery’s director
The National Portrait Gallery is home to over 23,000 works of art and hosts a collection of presidential portraits called ‘America’s Presidents’.
Prior to taking up her role, Sajet was the president and CEO of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
The White House had pointed to the gallery’s photo of Trump and the caption as part of their reasoning for her dismissal.
The caption reads: ‘Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.
‘After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump mounted a historic comeback in the 2024 election. He is the only president aside from Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) to have won a nonconsecutive second term.’
Sajet previously told The Guardian that the gallery doesn’t try to editorialize when it comes to labeling portraits in the gallery.
Sajet said: ‘We try very hard to be even-handed when we talk about people and that’s the key.
‘Everyone has an opinion about American presidents, good, bad and indifferent. We hear it all but generally I think we’ve done pretty well.’
Trump is seen here departing the White House on Friday for a trip to Pennsylvania
Sajet, far left, is seen here as a portrait of Oprah Winfrey is unveiled inside the gallery in 2023
Trump has repeatedly criticized the national network of museums and cultural centers as leftist and anti-American.
Earlier this spring, he ousted the leadership of the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, dismissing the chairman and president and replacing most of the board with loyalists, who then voted Trump the new chairman.
In early May, he also abruptly dismissed Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden after she was accused of ‘promoting trans-ing kids’.
Hayden’s term as the first African American Librarian of Congress was cut short after she received an email from the Trump administration terminating her position.
The email, addressed to ‘Carla,’ said: ‘On behalf of President Donald J Trump, I am writing to inform you that our position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service.’
Her ten-year term, which was set to expire next year, ended after she was accused of promoting children’s books with ‘radical’ content and literary material authored by opponents of Trump, according to The Associated Press.
A White House officials told Fox that Sajet had donated $3,982 to Democrats running for office including President Biden and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
