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17h ago

House Panel Advances Women’s Museum Mall Bill With Ban on Depicting Biological Males as Female

A late GOP amendment that adds presidential discretion over the site now threatens the bill’s once-easy path to passage by stripping it of bipartisan support.

Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the Capitol in November. Her proposal to block transgender exhibits at the fledgling Smithsonian women’s museum was approved by the House Administration Committee on Wednesday.
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Overview

  • House Administration Committee approved the amended siting bill on a 7-4 party-line vote, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed.
  • The substitute from Rep. Mary Miller narrows the museum’s mission to biological women and bars identifying any biological male as female in exhibits or content.
  • The measure names the South Monument location across from the African American History Museum but empowers the president to designate an alternative site on the National Mall.
  • Democrats labeled the changes a poison pill, criticized ceding siting authority to the president, and noted the decoupling from a companion Latino museum authorization after an effort to add it failed in committee.
  • With bipartisan support gone, the bill is unlikely to move under suspension, will likely route through the Rules Committee, faces an uncertain floor vote under the GOP’s slim majority, and the Smithsonian has declined to discuss prospective exhibits.