All four Democrats on the House Administration Committee voted Thursday against advancing a bill to build a Women’s History Museum on the National Mall, after Republicans added language specifying the museum would honor only biological women.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), said the measure cleared committee on a 7-4 party-line vote. Two of the Democrats who voted no, Reps. Terri Sewell of Alabama and Julie Johnson of Texas, had previously signed on as cosponsors. The bill had 231 total cosponsors before the amendment was adopted.
“Democrats in the House Administration Committee just voted against my bill to build a Women’s History Museum on the National Mall because an amendment was adopted to ensure only biological women are exhibited,” Malliotakis wrote on X. “What a way to celebrate #WomensHistoryMonth!”
The amended legislative text states the museum “shall be dedicated to preserving, researching, and presenting the history, achievements, and lived experiences of biological women in the United States” and “may not identify, present, describe, or otherwise depict any biological male as a female.”
Ranking Member Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY) pushed back in a statement to Fox News Digital, accusing Republicans of sabotaging a bipartisan effort.
“The Republican majority took a bipartisan, Republican-led bill with 230 cosponsors and, at the last minute, replaced it with one that gives President Trump unchecked authority to choose the museum’s location, hands control of its design and construction to boards now filled with political loyalists, omits its sister museum honoring American Latinos, and inserts ideological poison pills aimed not at building a museum, but at generating cheap political talking points,” Morelle said.
The four committee Democrats who voted no are Morelle, Sewell, Torres of California, and Johnson of Texas.
Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump, called the vote “insane, but not surprising for the Democrats,” posting the clown emoji alongside her remarks on X.
Former swimmer Riley Gaines, who has campaigned against biological males competing in female sports, wrote on X: “A Women’s History Museum is one step closer to the National Mall. It passed out of committee, BUT only along party lines after an amendment was added to ensure it honors real women, not men identifying as women. Yes, that’s where the debate is in 2026.”
The bill now heads to the full House floor.
