A new congressional commission has begun studying whether Philadelphia's Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History should become part of the Smithsonian Institution. The commission's members were sworn in on Tuesday and held their first meeting the same day, starting a formal process that could make the Weitzman the only Smithsonian museum outside the Washington and New York metropolitan areas.

The commission was created by legislation signed by President Biden in 2024. Its chair is Philip Darivoff, a former longtime chair of the Weitzman, and its vice chair is Dara Horn, the bestselling author. Both told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that bringing the museum into the Smithsonian would send a national signal that Jewish American history and culture matter to the country's story. Horn said a higher profile for the museum could help counter what she called an "epidemic of ignorance" about Jewish history, and argued for foregrounding how Jews shaped founding ideals such as religious pluralism.

The study comes as the Smithsonian faces political pressure over its own programming. The Weitzman, founded in 1976 on Independence Mall, has had a turbulent recent history of its own: it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2020 under more than $30 million in bondholder debt, emerged in 2021 after creditors forgave $14 million and a board member purchased the building for $10 million, and was renamed later that year for shoe designer Stuart Weitzman following a major gift.

The commission's study is the first formal step toward a decision on federal incorporation, and its findings will determine whether the museum joins the national network.