Republican attempt to erase trans women could derail long-awaited Smithsonian museum

Advocates are alarmed by attempts to exclude exhibits on transgender women from the planned Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum. Now, the Democratic Women’s Caucus is urging Congress to reverse course, warning that President Donald Trump’s anti-woman policies could jeopardize the entire project.

The Democratic Women’s Caucus sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson arguing that exclusionary provisions could poison a museum that once enjoyed bipartisan support.

“The work to establish the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum has been rooted in the joint conviction that women's history and women’s stories are central to the identity of our nation,” the letter reads. “The eleventh-hour amendment not only wipes out years of hard-fought bipartisan progress but also threatens our support for the bill.”

Caucus chair Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández and steering members Judy Chu and Debbie Dingell led the effort. A total of 146 Democratic lawmakers signed the letter.

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Lawmakers have worked to establish the museum since 2020, but legislation to move the project forward and secure a site has stalled under Johnson, drawing criticism from some Republican women in the House, NBC News reports.

At a March 18 House Administration Committee hearing, Democrats said Republicans advanced a “hyperpartisan version of the bill” that would give Trump broad control over the project.

Trump has repeatedly targeted transgender equality policies during both of his terms and last year threatened to withhold funding unless the museum removed content recognizing the accomplishments of trans women.

An executive order focused on Smithsonian administration spotlighted a planned exhibit at the museum.

“The forthcoming Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum plans on celebrating the exploits of male athletes participating in women’s sports,” the order reads. “… Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.”

Democrats now warn that Republicans could reshape the museum’s mission to appease an anti-LGBTQ+ president.

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“The design and location of a museum about women, fought for and supported by women, should not be controlled by one man and his loyalists—particularly not a man who has been found liable for sexual assault, and regularly denigrates women based on physical appearance, among other repulsive behaviors,” the letter states.

“American women deserve better. The American people deserve better.”

The bill also includes controversial language limiting museum content to “biological women.” The Democratic letter warns that the provision could lead to broader exclusion.

“While the author’s intent is clearly to target transgender women and girls, the provision invites arbitrary enforcement and could be used to challenge the inclusion of any woman or girl a politician deems not ‘feminine’ enough,” the letter states. “This is just another example of Republicans needlessly adding an anti-transgender provision to an unrelated bill that would impact not just transgender women and girls but all women and girls.”

Democrats said they will oppose the bill if lawmakers do not revise the language and restore bipartisan support.