Washington DC - President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to remove so-called "improper ideology" from the famed Smithsonian Museums and the National Zoo.

Trump, who has sought to root out what he called "woke" culture since returning to power in January, accused the Smithsonian of trying to rewrite American history on issues of race and gender.

His order puts hardline Vice President JD Vance in charge of efforts to carry out the order at the Smithsonian's museums, educations, and research centers.

Trump said this should include a drive to "remove improper ideology from such properties."

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The Smithsonian operates 21 internationally renowned museums and galleries, mainly in and around Washington, dedicated to art, science, space, and American history.

They include the National Zoo in the US capital, which recently welcomed two giant pandas from China, debuting them to the public just days after Trump's inauguration for a second term.

The presidential order – titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" – targeted a number of examples of what it also called "corrosive ideology."

It said the National Museum of African American History and Culture, one of the newest Smithsonian additions, had described hard work and the nuclear family as "aspects of 'White Culture.'"

Trump also targeted what he said was a plan by the as-yet-unopened American Women's history museum for "celebrating the exploits of male athletes participating in women's sports."

In a separate order on Thursday titled "Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful," Trump directed the creation of an inter-agency task force to intensify a crackdown on immigrants.

It also calls for the development of a "coordinated beautification plan" for the city.

"We will take over our horribly run Washington DC, and clean up, renovate, and rebuild our capital so that it is no longer a nightmare of murder and crime," Trump said on the campaign trail last year – a message reposted Thursday on X by the White House.

Washington DC has responded to Republican threats to withdraw funding by capitulating to all demands, such as removing some homeless encampments and a "Black Lives Matter" mural.