Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

riversedge

(75,144 posts)
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 02:50 PM 14 hrs ago

Elon Musk's staffers are trying to push into the National Gallery of Art. They recently met with the museum's director a

I can't find an article if doge got in or not.



Elon Musk’s staffers are trying to push into the National Gallery of Art. They recently met with the museum’s director and legal team, to question its legal status and explore ways to assert influence. One of the nation’s most respected art institutions is now in their crosshairs.
https://bsky.app/profile/altnps.bsky.social/post/3lngagr2fhk22


DOGE Meeting With National Gallery of Art Sets Off Alarm Bells

Maya Pontone and Isa Farfan April 21, 2025

https://hyperallergic.com/1005248/doge-meeting-with-national-gallery-of-art-sets-off-alarm-bells/


The Elon Musk-led agency met with museum leadership to discuss the organization’s “legal status” as the Trump administration continues its attacks on federal arts funding.


We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. If you value our coverage and want to support more of it, please join us as a member.

The Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has set its sights on the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, DC, as the White House continues its escalation against federal arts and cultural institutions. In the months since Trump’s inauguration, the president has eviscerated diversity and inclusivity efforts, dismantled national grant funding initiatives for museums, libraries, and arts organizations, terminated dozens of federal workers, and redirected funds to bizarre nationalistic arts endeavors.

Members of DOGE met with museum leaders, including NGA Director Kaywin Feldman and General Counsel Luis Baquedano, last Thursday, April 17, to discuss the institution’s “legal status,” according to an email Feldman sent to staff that was obtained by Bloomberg CityLab.

It is unclear what “legal status” refers to, but the Trump administration has threatened to revoke tax-exempt status from organizations that do not comply with its federal policy agenda. Established by Congress in 1937 as a national museum, the NGA operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in partnership with the government.

The NGA’s meeting with DOGE could be the harbinger of impending layoffs or other cuts, as was the case for the grantmaking agency Institute of Museum and Library Services, which saw sweeping grant terminations and staff dismissals after reports of a “brief meeting between DOGE staff and IMLS leadership.” ......................






https://bsky.app/profile/altnps.bsky.social/post/3lngagr2fhk22

17 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Elon Musk's staffers are trying to push into the National Gallery of Art. They recently met with the museum's director a (Original Post) riversedge 14 hrs ago OP
If we don't start paying attention angrychair 14 hrs ago #1
oh how far we've fallen: ret5hd 14 hrs ago #2
Sept 2020: Trump visited Paris in 2018 and returned with $750,000 worth of replica art from the US Embassy in France. riversedge 14 hrs ago #3
Trump would jave been the Nazi Henry203 14 hrs ago #4
Or the gold fillings from their teeth. nt Buns_of_Fire 13 hrs ago #7
Watch for the gallery's works soon on eBay. Buns_of_Fire 13 hrs ago #5
Washington, DC - National Gallery of Art Gets A Visit from DoGE... ultralite001 13 hrs ago #6
Thank you! progressoid 12 hrs ago #13
Orwellian. This from the "freedom" party . lindysalsagal 13 hrs ago #8
When Detroit was in bankruptcy... Kid Berwyn 13 hrs ago #9
Time for museum staff to search out possible storage facilities Warpy 13 hrs ago #10
This administration seems to be very serious about removing women and not-whites from the historical record. nt. ShazamIam 12 hrs ago #11
How do you spell Nazi pigs? dchill 12 hrs ago #12
K & R for exposure. SunSeeker 12 hrs ago #14
Nazis. 58Sunliner 11 hrs ago #15
I want to describe the mental pictures I have in my head. I'm sure you all can supply your own home movies. NBachers 10 hrs ago #16
Looting + pillaging + ultralite001 8 hrs ago #17

angrychair

(10,550 posts)
1. If we don't start paying attention
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 02:53 PM
14 hrs ago

These people will start pushing into the National Zoo to host a barbeque.
This has to stop.

riversedge

(75,144 posts)
3. Sept 2020: Trump visited Paris in 2018 and returned with $750,000 worth of replica art from the US Embassy in France.
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 03:00 PM
14 hrs ago

Trump will be going to Italy soon for Pope Francis's funeral.
Italy better lock up their art IMHO.



Jim Buzbee‬ ‪@jimbuzbee.bsky.social‬
· 21h
Wouldn't be the first time Trump stole artwork. www.theartnewspaper.com/2020/09/08/t...
https://bsky.app/profile/jimbuzbee.bsky.social/post/3lngnc2wnzc26



The art of the steal? Trump swipes $750,000 worth of art from the US Embassy in France—but none of it is the real deal

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2020/09/08/the-art-of-the-steal-trump-swipes-dollar750000-worth-of-art-from-the-us-embassy-in-francebut-none-of-it-is-the-real-deal

The Art Newspaper 8 September 2020

Trump visited Paris in 2018 and returned with $750,000 worth of replica art from the US Embassy in France. Reuters


President Donald Trump swiped some art from the residence of the US ambassador to France during a 2018 visit—the same visit on which he cancelled a trip to visit fallen First World War Marines at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery outside Paris after allegedly calling the dead “suckers” and “losers”. According to a recent report by Bloomberg, Trump fancied for himself several of the pieces in the ambassador’s historic residence in Paris, where he was staying and which serves as the flagship for the State Department’s “Art in Embassies” cultural programme. Without notifying the ambassador, Jamie McCourt, the president and author of The Art of the Deal had a portrait and bust of Benjamin Franklin and a set of silver figurines depicting Greek mythological characters loaded onto Air Force One to bring them back to the White House. A bureaucratic nightmare ensued for the State Department and White House staffers, who worried that the $750,000 cache of art might not be legally transferable. Meanwhile, a flummoxed McCourt was told that she would receive the work back in six years—or 2024, when a second term of Trump’s presidency would theoretically end.

The loot, however, was deemed legal to enter the White House since it was technically US property… and all of the works were replicas or copies anyway. It remains unclear whether Trump knew that none of the pieces were original when he decided to take them home with him, or whether he, in truth, was the real sucker.

Buns_of_Fire

(18,364 posts)
5. Watch for the gallery's works soon on eBay.
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 03:23 PM
13 hrs ago

Or on TrumpTrophies dot com. Make checks payable to Trump-Musk Retirement Fund Ltd. Shipping not included.

ultralite001

(1,564 posts)
6. Washington, DC - National Gallery of Art Gets A Visit from DoGE...
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 03:25 PM
13 hrs ago

DOGE Visits National Gallery of Art to Discuss Museum’s Legal Status

https://archive.ph/IBTYR

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/national-gallery-of-art-doge-meeting-1234739205/

For giggles, here's Russia's take:

https://news-pravda.com/world/2025/04/20/1251862.html

Pravda cites this artcle from the Financial Times:

https://archive.ph/zT6Cd

Kid Berwyn

(20,039 posts)
9. When Detroit was in bankruptcy...
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 03:40 PM
13 hrs ago

…Betsy DeVos wanted the Detroit Institute of Arts to sell off its masterpieces, including a couple of van Gogh’s works. Being a billionaire, of course, meant she would be in on the “bidding” for the good stuff.

Warpy

(113,237 posts)
10. Time for museum staff to search out possible storage facilities
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 04:13 PM
13 hrs ago

for anything those Philistines find objectionable, much like museums hiding art from Nazis during the last century.

I loved the National Gallery, it's where I usually ate my lunch when I worked in DC.

ShazamIam

(2,838 posts)
11. This administration seems to be very serious about removing women and not-whites from the historical record. nt.
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 04:34 PM
12 hrs ago

NBachers

(18,439 posts)
16. I want to describe the mental pictures I have in my head. I'm sure you all can supply your own home movies.
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 06:53 PM
10 hrs ago

They’re getting more involved even as I get ready to post this.

ultralite001

(1,564 posts)
17. Looting + pillaging +
Wed Apr 23, 2025, 08:29 PM
8 hrs ago

raping... Erik the Viking...

They cut this clip just before the punch line: "Thanks for saving me from a fate worse than death!"

?si=Wq_3_42RlaYWw0gg
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Elon Musk's staffers are ...