Smithsonian Leader’s Multimillion-Dollar Compensation Package Draws Scrutiny Over DEI Advocacy

Lonnie Bunch III, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, has accumulated more than $4.4 million in salary and benefits between 2020 and 2024, according to a review of the organization’s tax filings. The compensation package includes a 2024 salary of $915,469 plus $74,090 in additional benefits, with previous years ranging from $726,156 to $861,379 in base pay.

The high-dollar arrangement has drawn renewed attention because federal taxpayers fund approximately 60 percent of the Smithsonian’s overall budget, despite the institution’s use of private trust revenues to finance executive compensation and circumvent federal salary caps. The focus on Bunch’s pay comes as his vocal advocacy for diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion programs at the institution faces intensifying criticism from the Trump administration and other observers.

Bunch has consistently emphasized the centrality of DEAI principles to museum operations. In a policy framework document co-authored for the American Alliance of Museums titled “Excellence in DEAI,” he stated that such initiatives must be embedded across all levels of institutional leadership and operations, calling DEAI “integral to excellence in museum practice.”

The Smithsonian’s leadership and policies have become the subject of political scrutiny. A Trump administration report titled Saving America’s Story alleged the institution had shifted from historical education toward “extreme political activism” designed to transform the country, citing statements from senior museum officials.

Bunch oversees 21 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo and multiple research centers as secretary. He has not responded to inquiries regarding whether his advocacy aligns with the institution’s stated nonpartisan mission or whether federal funding obligations should restrict employee activism.