Rep. Nancy Mace Uses Congressional Hearing to Target LGBTQ History at the Smithsonian

In a recent congressional oversight hearing, Rep. Nancy Mace questioned Anthea Hartig, director of the National Museum of American History, about a drag-performance video, a reference to RuPaul, materials from a queer archive, a childhood diary, and an object linked to LGBTQ history. Mace presented these items as evidence that the museum was exposing children to sexual danger. Hartig defended the museum’s curatorial decisions and its mission to preserve diverse aspects of American life.

Nancy Mace Used Congress to Cast LGBTQ History as a Sexual Threat to Children

The museum’s “Girlhood (It’s Complicated)” exhibition ran from October 2020 to January 2023 and examined how girls have shaped U.S. history. It focused on gendered experiences rather than a singular LGBTQ narrative.

Nancy Mace Used Congress to Cast LGBTQ History as a Sexual Threat to Children

Mace’s questioning aligns with a broader effort by the Trump administration to reshape Smithsonian presentations. A 2026 White House report, *Saving America’s Story*, accused the museum of abandoning “straightforward education” for “ideological activism” and called for exhibits that promote patriotism and remove “improper ideology.”

Nancy Mace Used Congress to Cast LGBTQ History as a Sexual Threat to Children

Rep. Mace framed the issue as a child-protection matter, arguing that LGBTQ-related artifacts in a public museum create a risk to minors.

Nancy Mace Used Congress to Cast LGBTQ History as a Sexual Threat to Children

Hartig responded that museums preserve objects to document how people lived and what societies punished. She said an artifact does not endorse every practice associated with it, and a drag performer’s place in entertainment history does not equate to sexual misconduct.

Nancy Mace Used Congress to Cast LGBTQ History as a Sexual Threat to Children

The White House report argued that the museum should tell the nation’s story with pride, foster patriotism, and eliminate “improper ideology,” positioning federal oversight as a tool to correct perceived deviations from a preferred narrative.

Nancy Mace Used Congress to Cast LGBTQ History as a Sexual Threat to Children

Mace’s focus on children shifts the debate from curatorial judgment to a political strategy that treats LGBTQ visibility as suspect whenever minors might encounter it. This framing can justify the removal of books, restriction of classroom discussion, and exclusion of trans history from education. By portraying LGBTQ artifacts as threats, the hearing sends a message to queer and trans youth that their histories must first prove “harmlessness” before being allowed in public institutions.

Nancy Mace Used Congress to Cast LGBTQ History as a Sexual Threat to Children

The hearing also shows how congressional oversight can act as a pre-emptive form of censorship. Even without an explicit ban, investigations, funding pressure, and political retaliation can lead museum officials to self-censor, avoid controversial objects, and narrow interpretive language to protect budgets and staff.

Nancy Mace Used Congress to Cast LGBTQ History as a Sexual Threat to Children

The sources do not provide quantitative data on any changes to museum exhibitions, funding allocations, or legislative outcomes after the hearing. No documented response from the White House beyond the *Saving America’s Story* report is available, leaving the immediate impact on policy or museum practice unclear.

Nancy Mace Used Congress to Cast LGBTQ History as a Sexual Threat to Children