The Smithsonian’s $18 million “Entertainment Nation” exhibit features Dr. Fauci alongside pop culture icons, sparking debate over the appropriate use of taxpayer dollars for pandemic memorabilia.
At a Glance
- The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History spent $18 million on the “Entertainment Nation” exhibit, displaying Dr. Fauci’s donated face mask alongside items like Star Wars droids and Mister Rogers’ sweater
- The exhibit was initially planned in 2019 with $4.4 million spent under the Trump administration, completed with an additional $13.5 million under Biden
- A separate planned exhibit featuring Fauci at the National Institutes of Health Museum was recently canceled, saving $168,000
- The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, announced the termination of the NIH museum contract
- The Smithsonian continues collecting various “Covid-19 artifacts,” including a Black Lives Matter facemask and “Vaccine of Hope” stickers
Controversial Cultural Preservation
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History has unveiled its $18 million “Entertainment Nation” exhibit featuring cultural memorabilia spanning decades of American history. Among the artifacts on display is a face mask supposedly worn by Dr. Anthony Fauci during a 2020 baseball game, positioned alongside iconic items such as Star Wars droids and Mister Rogers’ sweater. The mask, however, was not actually worn during the game but was instead an unused one that Fauci signed and donated specifically for the collection.
Fauci also contributed a 3D-printed model of the Covid-19 virus that he used during his pandemic briefings. These items join the Smithsonian’s growing collection of “Covid-19 artifacts,” which includes a Black Lives Matter facemask and “Vaccine of Hope” stickers. The exhibit was initially planned in 2019 with $4.4 million allocated under the Trump administration, later completed with an additional $13.5 million under President Biden’s administration.
Canceled Exhibits and Cost-Cutting Measures
While the Smithsonian exhibit proceeds, a separate planned exhibit honoring Fauci at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) History and Stetten Museum was recently canceled. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, announced the termination of this contract, originally valued at $168,000. At the time of cancellation, the contract had a remaining value of $8,962 and included provisions for management, design consultation, construction of support structures, and site visits.
This cancellation is part of broader cost-cutting measures by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which terminated 62 contracts totaling $182 million, all related to administrative expenses rather than healthcare programs. A Fauci mural was also removed from an NIH office building as part of these changes. The NIH further announced a reduction in the maximum indirect cost rate for grants to research institutions, now capped at 15%.
“This is the kind of treatment that scientists get in totalitarian societies like Stalinist Russia if they don’t toe the political line of the leaders,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).
Taxpayer Funding and Administrative Overhead
Critics have raised concerns about the use of taxpayer money for what some consider politically charged exhibits. The NIH highlighted that $9 billion of its $35 billion research grants were previously used for administrative overhead. The new maximum indirect cost rate of 15% is significantly lower than previous rates charged by some institutions, with major universities like Harvard, Yale, and Johns Hopkins previously maintaining much higher overhead rates.
This change in policy is expected to save more than $4 billion annually in federal spending. The contrast between the Smithsonian’s continued investment in preserving pandemic-related artifacts and the government’s recent efforts to reduce administrative expenses highlights ongoing tensions regarding the appropriate allocation of federal resources, particularly when it comes to memorializing controversial figures and events from recent history.
