Smithsonian exec who said DEI ‘must be at the center’ of institutions is raking in eye-popping salary

FIRST ON FOX: Lonnie Bunch III, the Smithsonian Institution secretary who called DEI an “integral to excellence in museum practice,” raked in over $4.4 million from 2020-2024 in base salary and added benefits, a Fox News Digital review found.

While the Smithsonian funds executive compensation through private trust revenues to comply with federal pay caps, the high-dollar package could draw fresh scrutiny because federal taxpayers still fund roughly 60% of the institution’s overall budget.

During his tenure, Bunch has championed a sweeping transformation of the institution’s cultural footprint, stating during a 2019 interview with the Smithsonian Magazine that he wanted the Smithsonian to make “diversity and inclusion so central that it’s no longer talked about.”

“We call ourselves the Great Convener, but we’re really a great legitimizer. And I want the Smithsonian to legitimize important issues, whether it’s 1619 or climate change,” Bunch said, referring to the controversial 1619 Project that has been repeatedly slammed for “egregious errors” by scholars. “We help people think about what’s important, what they should debate, what they should embrace.”

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“Everybody that thought about the 1619 Project, whether they liked it or disagreed with it, saw that the Smithsonian had fingerprints on it. And that to me was a great victory,” he added.

As secretary, Bunch reports to the organization’s board of regents and oversees the Smithsonian’s 21 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo and several research centers. Within the organization, the departments of the deputy secretary, chief operating officer and external affairs report to him.

While Bunch’s current salary is not public yet, the Smithsonian Institution’s 990 tax forms from 2020 to 2024 show that he has raked in millions of dollars, including a salary of $915,469 with $74,090 in added benefits in 2024. Other years range from $726,156 to $861,379 for his salary and up to $68,391 in added benefits.

In addition to the interview, he co-wrote a policy framework resource titled “Excellence in DEAI,” an acronym for Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion, which was written for the American Alliance of Museums. 

Bunch further elaborated on his views on diversity in this 17-page document, which says that museums should “embed responsibility and accountability for implementing DEAI policies and processes into operations, job descriptions, and performance reviews at all levels of the institution, from the board of directors, c-level executives, and senior leaders to middle managers, junior staff, and volunteers.”

“DEAI is integral to excellence in museum practice. FULL STOP,” Bunch wrote.

“Amid social, political and cultural polarization and clear structural racism and other forms of oppression in the United States and around the world, DEAI must be at the center of how we understand and practice excellence in our institutions,” he added.

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Bunch’s comments, along with statements from other Smithsonian leadership members, have prompted scrutiny from the Trump administration. In a report titled Saving America’s Story, the administration raised concerns that the organization had taken on a clear political bent.

“Confirmed in the words of museum leadership, this ideological capture has moved the museum’s mission away from straightforward historical education and scholarship toward an extreme political activism that seeks to transform our country,” the report reads.

For his part, Bunch has claimed that he sees himself as an apolitical actor without an agenda despite pushing for DEAI.

“What the country needs are places that are nonpartisan and safe, where people can grapple with what’s going on around them,” Bunch told Smithsonian Smithsonian Magazine.

The Smithsonian, which was established by Congress in 1846 as an independent federal trust, depends heavily on taxpayer dollars.

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“Financially, the institution depends on the federal government for approximately two-thirds of its funding,” the organization stated in its 2025 management report.

Bunch did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether he believes his political leanings are at odds with the Smithsonian’s overall purpose or whether federal funding should prevent the organization’s employees from furthering a stated agenda.