Bunch III, the first Black secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and one of the most influential museum leaders in the United States, announced Tuesday that he will step down at the end of 2026 after seven years leading the nation's largest museum complex. His departure comes after a tumultuous year in which President Donald Trump's administration intensified scrutiny of the Smithsonian, accusing some museum leaders of promoting politically biased interpretations of American history amid the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations. The Smithsonian said Bunch would leave his post at the end of the year after serving as secretary since 2019.
"I depart with very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude," Bunch said in a statement announcing his retirement. Newsweek has reached out to the White House via email on Tuesday afternoon for comment. Calling Bunch "a student of history" who devoted his life to telling "America's full history," Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat and member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, praised his more than 30 years of service to the Smithsonian.
In a statement shared with Newsweek via email, Cortez Masto said she hopes the institution's next secretary will demonstrate the same commitment to arts, culture, science and history. Bunch, 73, is a historian, author and longtime museum executive who has spent more than four decades in the museum field. Before becoming secretary of the Smithsonian in 2019, he was best known as the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
Under his leadership, the museum opened in 2016 after years of planning and fundraising and quickly became one of the Smithsonian's most visited institutions. His appointment as secretary marked a historic milestone for the Smithsonian. Bunch became the first African American to lead the institution in its nearly 180-year history.
As secretary, he oversaw a sprawling enterprise that includes 21 museums, the National Zoo, major research centers and educational programs that draw millions of visitors annually. Bunch's path to the top of the Smithsonian began in New Jersey, where he was born in Newark and raised in nearby Belleville. A trained historian, he attended Howard University before earning bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in American and African American history from American University.
After beginning his career at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Bunch went on to hold leadership positions at museums in California, Chicago and Washington before becoming the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and, later, the first Black and first historian to lead the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian did not cite a specific reason for Bunch's departure beyond his decision to retire. However, his announcement comes amid unprecedented pressure from the Trump administration.
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