Congress and Federal Museums

The House Administration Committee voted 7–4 along party lines to advance a bill authorizing land on the National Mall for the proposed Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum after Republicans adopted an amendment requiring the museum to honor only 'biological women' and barring depiction of any 'biological male as a female.' Bill sponsor Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R‑N.Y., who does not sit on the committee, said all four Democrats voted against moving the measure once the amendment was added, even though two of them—Reps. Terri Sewell and Julie Johnson—were among the bill’s 231 original co‑sponsors. Ranking Member Joe Morelle, D‑N.Y., countered that Republicans had replaced a bipartisan proposal with one that hands President Trump sweeping authority over the museum’s location, shifts control to politically appointed boards, omits a paired American Latino museum, and inserts what he called 'ideological poison pills.' The fight turns what had been a broadly supported museum plan into another front in the national clash over how federal institutions define sex and gender, with conservative activists like Riley Gaines cheering the amendment online and Democrats warning it weaponizes a cultural museum to exclude transgender women.