Women's museum bill approved by House panel with transgender ban

WASHINGTON — A Smithsonian museum honoring women has been stalled for years, waiting on Congress to clear the way for its construction. On Wednesday the House Administration panel advanced a measure that would finally place it on the National Mall.

But the vote on the once bipartisan issue fell along party lines, after Democrats pulled their support over last-minute changes that would ban transgender exhibits and give the final say on a location to President Donald Trump.

As amended, the bill would allow the museum to be built within the reserve of the Mall, where new construction is tightly controlled. While the bill names the so-called South Monument site across from the National Museum of African American History and Culture, it also hands the president the power to “designate an alternative site” of his choosing.

Congress originally authorized the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum in 2020, alongside plans for a Museum of the American Latino. Now it must give the OK to build on the Mall, a task that is proving easier said than done as the parties clash over who should have jurisdiction over history and culture.

While Democrats supported the initial version of the museum siting bill introduced by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., they objected to the substitute amendment from Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., including its location leeway for Trump, how it handles design proposals and its emphasis on “biological women.”

The museum “may not identify, present, describe, or otherwise depict any biological male as female,” the amended measure states, aligning with an executive order Trump issued last March seeking to weed out “corrosive ideology” at the Smithsonian and monuments across the country.

“The accomplishments of real women should never be overshadowed,” Miller said at the markup.

Malliotakis later described the changes as “reasonable requests that should have been supported in a bipartisan manner,” adding they stemmed from ideas raised at a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing last month.

“I’m optimistic and hopeful that the House will pass this legislation swiftly during this Women’s History Month,” she said in a statement.

But Democrats on Wednesday said the changes were a “poison pill,” while accusing Republicans of slow-walking the Latino museum, which is also waiting on a green light from Congress to build on the Mall. Lawmakers had hoped to package the two siting bills together, only to decouple them as anti-immigration rhetoric flared in recent years.

“The Mall tells the story of America, and it should tell the complete story of America. To do so would require us to have not only a women’s museum on the National Mall, but a Latino museum on the National Mall, as well,” Rep. Terri A. Sewell, D-Ala., said at the markup.

Rep. Norma J. Torres, D-Calif., offered an amendment that would include the Latino museum site authorization, but it was rejected 4-7.

Withholding pay during shutdowns

The lawmakers were unified on another point: Members of Congress should not receive paychecks during government shutdowns.

The committee approved a bill as amended that would withhold pay until lawmakers find a way to reopen. It comes amid the ongoing funding lapse at the Department of Homeland Security, as many worry about the optics of cashing checks while other federal workers go without.

Sponsored by Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis., the bill originally called for pay reductions for every 24 hours of a lapse in appropriations. The revised version would direct payroll administrators to “disburse and hold” any payments, which would then be released “as soon as practicable” after a shutdown ends.

Some lawmakers had raised concerns about reducing lawmakers’ pay, citing Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution, which provides that “Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services,” and the 27th Amendment: “No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.”

While ranking member Joseph D. Morelle, D-N.Y., praised his counterpart for working in “a bipartisan way,” the pair also took the opportunity to trade blame over the current partial shutdown.

“It’s been 32 days since TSA agents have been fully and properly compensated. This is at a time during which we should be securing and protecting the homeland, but (Senate Minority Leader Charles E.) Schumer and Democrats in the Senate are playing politics with DHS funding,” Steil said.

Morelle pushed back, saying, “right now, we’re in shutdown because we cannot get members across the aisle to recognize that there needs to be reforms to ICE.”

The historically long government shutdown in the fall of 2025 prompted a flurry of similar bills, including one that advanced out of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee this past December, though it has seen no additional movement since then.

Panel punts on library changes

The committee deferred action on a measure that would restructure the appointment processes for the librarian of Congress, the director of the Government Publishing Office and the register of copyrights.

Committee members were unsatisfied with the bill’s current form, with Morelle saying they need more time to ensure it “serves the needs, again, of the Congress and of the American people.”

Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden last year, prompting calls for Congress to assert more control over the library and choose its head through a congressional commission, rather than a presidential appointment.

Congress passed a similar bipartisan law in 2023 for the Architect of the Capitol, but this time lawmakers are treading carefully to avoid angering the president. Trump also fired Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter, who sued over her removal.

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