President Trump fired the National Portrait Gallery director on Friday for being “highly partisan” and a “supporter” of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
“Upon the request and recommendation of many people, I am herby terminating the employment of Kim Sajet as Director of the National Portrait Gallery,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post.
“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,” he added.
A White House official told The Hill that Sajet has donated to Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign through Act Blue.
The Federal Elections Commission reported that she financially supported Democratic nominees including former President Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, (D-N.Y.), former Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison (D-S.C.) and others through ActBlue.
Sajet is a Nigeria-born, Australian native and a citizen of the Netherlands, according to her profile on the National Portrait Gallery website.
She has a doctoral degree from Georgetown University and completed arts leadership training at the Harvard Business School. The Trump administration has rattled both institutions over new deportation policies and campus culture.
Sajet was notably at the helm of the portrait gallery when it temporarily removed the portraits of former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama to go on a more than two-year, five-city tour.
“We’re a history museum and an art museum, and they are really great representations of both. This tour is an opportunity for audiences in different parts of the country to witness how portraiture can engage people,” Sajet told The Washington Post at the time.
Her removal comes after Trump ousted the Librarian of Congress, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S. Coast Guard Commandant over similar concerns.
The president signed an executive order in March in an effort to combat “divisive narratives” promoted by certain museums.
In the order, titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” Trump said the Smithsonian Institution, which operates numerous museums in the nation’s capital, “has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.”
He also outlawed DEI practices from the federal government earlier this year. A judge recently declined to block certain aspects of the order, which was challenged in early May.
Updated at 4:21 p.m. EDT.
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