Story perspectives

House Rejects Women’s Museum Bill, Bars Trans, Gives Trump Site

5/22/2026

Summary

Story summary

House rejected American Women’s History Museum bill 216-204 after Rep. Mary Miller added an amendment barring transgender women and letting President Donald Trump choose museum’s site.
Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride said the amendment makes recognizing transgender women impossible, gives Trump control, and called it a “poison pill” attacking inclusion.
Before the amendment, the bill had 230 co-sponsors, including 100 Republicans, and was paired with the Smithsonian’s Museum of American Latino.

History

Historical Context

Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act in September 1996, with Bob Barr and Don Nickles sponsoring a definition of marriage as one man and one woman. The law survived until the Supreme Court struck Section 3 in United States v. Windsor (2013) and Obergefell (2015) rendered it unenforceable, and it was repealed by the Respect for Marriage Act in December 2022. Rep. Mary Miller’s amendment echoes DOMA’s exclusion, prompting Rep. Sarah McBride’s objection.

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Story summary

House rejected American Women’s History Museum bill 216-204 after Rep. Mary Miller added an amendment barring transgender women and letting President Donald Trump choose museum’s site.
Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride said the amendment makes recognizing transgender women impossible, gives Trump control, and called it a “poison pill” attacking inclusion.
Before the amendment, the bill had 230 co-sponsors, including 100 Republicans, and was paired with the Smithsonian’s Museum of American Latino.

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