The House rejected legislation Thursday to green-light construction of a Smithsonian women’s history museum on the National Mall, as six Republicans helped Democrats sink the measure.
The final vote was 204-216.
Democrats were upset about provisions Republicans added to the initially bipartisan bill that would give President Trump authority to move the selected site for the museum and exclude transgender women from being featured in it.
One of the additions that Democrats objected to stated: “The museum shall be dedicated to preserving, researching and presenting the history, achievements and lived experiences of biological women in the United States.”
“The addition of the word ‘biological’ made them all run for the hills,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, told reporters a day before the vote. “I mean, if that’s controversial in the Democratic Party, we’re in serious trouble. The party that purports to support women [is] demanding that the museum include biological men.”
Mr. Johnson ultimately lost the vote because of opposition within his own party.
The speaker declined to speak with reporters after the vote series, in which he also for the second day in a row, postponed consideration of a Democrat-led war powers resolution to end the conflict in Iran.
Republicans did not have the votes to defeat the war powers measure due to GOP absences.
The rejection of the women’s history museum was a missed opportunity for Republicans to notch an easy political messaging win.
“I was disappointed because we had an opportunity to show the difference between Republicans and Democrats,” said National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson of North Carolina.
“Democrats believe biological boys ought to play in girls’ sports [and now] they can’t define a woman,” he said. “So, I thought it was a great chance for us to expose that.”
Republican Reps. Josh Breechen of Oklahoma, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Andy Harris of Maryland and Michael Cloud and Keith Self of Texas voted against the measure.
“It was a bad idea,” Mr. Davidson told The Washington Times. “I think we should have one American history museum.”
The Smithsonian National Museum of American History does include some exhibitions on women’s history, but most lawmakers support having a separate museum devoted to that topic.
“It is long past time that the women of this country, who make up more than half the population, deserve to have a museum that tells their stories and shares their contributions to our great country,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, New York Republican and the bill’s lead sponsor, said during floor debate.
The Smithsonian already has museums devoted to African American and Native American history.
Congress first authorized the addition of the women’s history museum and another honoring Hispanic Americans during Mr. Trump’s first term, but additional legislation is needed to formally transfer the designated sites to the Smithsonian Institution.
Democrats objected to Republicans doing so for one museum without the other, noting the measures have traditionally been considered in tandem.
They also opposed Republican changes that they said would give Mr. Trump unprecedented say over the project at a time when he is obsessed with remaking Washington in his image.
One is language that allows the president to select an alternative site for the museum over the selected location between the Washington Monument and the Holocaust Museum.
They also opposed provisions giving the National Capital Planning Commission approval over the project.
“It hands control over design and construction to boards stacked with political loyalists who have already shown they will rubber-stamp whatever the president wants,” said Rep. Joe Morelle, New York Democrat. “To see evidence of that, look no further than the pile of rubble that used to be the White House East Wing.”
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, New Mexico Democrat and chair of the party’s Women’s Caucus, said the failed vote shows GOP leaders should revert to the original bipartisan version “that honors the diverse contributions women made to this country.”
“Today, the House proved that the Women’s History Museum does not belong to Trump,” she said in a statement. “It belongs to the women whose blood, sweat, and tears paint the picture of America. Women deserve to tell our own story.”
