National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet speaks at the opening of a 2022 exhibition. (Paul Morigi/AP Images for National Portrait Gallery) By Maura Judkis , Manuel Roig-Franzia and Meryl Kornfield

President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to assert control over an elite American cultural institution has turned into a high-stakes Washington standoff.

In defiance of Trump’s announcement last Friday that he was firing her, Kim Sajet — the director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery — has continued to report for work, conducting meetings and handling other museum business as she did before, according to several people familiar with her activities who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter. Subscribe for unlimited access to The Pos

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