Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Today, the Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) announced their formal opposition to H.R. 1329 the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum Act, as amended by Republicans. The bill is set to be voted on this week. 

DWC Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03) and Vice Chairs Hillary Scholten (MI-03) and Emilia Sykes (OH-13) released the below statement on DWC’s formal opposition to this bill:

“For years, we worked with Republicans on a bipartisan bill to get the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum across the finish line. This fight was rooted in the shared belief that women’s history and women’s stories are integral to who we are as a nation. But then with no warning, Republicans completely changed the bill, throwing away years of bipartisan work and broad support. They amended the bill to give Trump and his allies unregulated power over what content and which women can be included in the museum, and the museum’s location. A museum about women, fought for and supported by women, should not be controlled by one man. We strongly oppose this bill as amended. It completely flies in the face of the museum’s intention—Republicans traded the representation of women for Trump’s gain and ego. It’s as embarrassing as it is disappointing. We urge our colleagues to join us in opposing this bill and demand that the bill be restored to the bipartisan version so we can get the long awaited women’s history museum on our National Mall. Women deserve the right to tell their own story.”

Background:

On December 27, 2020, under the leadership of Members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, Congress passed the Consolidation Appropriations Act of 2021, which authorized the Museum of the American Latino and the American Women’s History Museum to exist as Smithsonian institutions with broad bipartisan support.

Since the passage of that bill, women in Congress have worked on a bipartisan basis to gather support for the legislation needed to determine the location and other critical details of the museum. H.R. 1329, the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act, is the bipartisan bill to accomplish those goals.

Rather than moving the bipartisan bill as is with over 200 cosponsors, in March, Republicans led by Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) passed a poison pill partisan amendment in the House Administration Committee mark up in March. Democratic Women’s Caucus members urged the Committee not to pass that bill, explaining that the amendment destroyed the bipartisan support for the bill. The amendment: 

H.R. 1329 the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum Act, which would determine the location, content and other key details of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, had strong bipartisan support for years. Republicans ruined that progress by adopting a last-minute and unnecessary hyper partisan amendment in the Committee on House Administration mark up last month. The bill as amended would take away the museum’s independence and give Trump and his political allies the power to make key decisions on the museum–the same loyalists pushing forward a ballroom while Americans struggle. 

The amendment also adds a “scope of mission” that states that the Museum will be focused on the history, achievements, and lived experiences of “biological women” and that the Museum may not identify, present, describe, or otherwise depict transgender women as women. This would bar the museum from including transgender women or girls. The bill does not include a definition for “biological women” but could be used to ban depictions of intersex women as well (i.e., women who have variations in their sex characteristics that do not fit typical conceptions about female bodies). This provision also invites arbitrary enforcement and could be used to challenge the inclusion of any woman or girl a politician deems not “feminine” enough.  The bill also omits the National Museum of the American Latino, which has historically been considered, advanced, and championed in tandem with the Women’s History Museum. This amendment and process was completely unnecessary and destroyed a years-long bipartisan effort for the sake of President Trump’s ego. 

Following the addition of the Republican amendment, on April 16, 2026, DWC Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03) and DWC Executive Steering Committee Members Debbie Dingell (MI-06) and Judy Chu (CA-28), co-leads of the bill, led a letter from more than 140 House Democrats to Speaker Johnson demanding he restore the bill to the bipartisan version before bringing it to the floor and include H.R.1330, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino Act. Instead of pursuing a bipartisan path, the Speaker and Republicans are trying to force through a hyper political version.

In addition to having more than 200 bipartisan cosponsors, the bill also had a successful bipartisan hearing in the House Committee on Natural Resources in February before the March House Administration Committee hearing.

Despite women making up 51% of our population and Latinos 19%, neither group currently has a dedicated Smithsonian museum. For generations the stories of these two groups and their contributions to art, science, politics, and civil rights have been underrepresented or absent in historical narratives. We will keep up the fight to appropriately honor women with this museum on the National Mall.

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