The Bipartisan Push for a Women's History Museum

Politico

25-07-2025

Happy Friday! Thanks for keeping up with Women Rule. Reach out to us: [e-mail] and [e-mail]. Let's jump right into it.
Both the Democratic and Republican Women's Caucuses sent a joint letter to House Appropriations Committee leaders Monday seeking full funding for the construction of the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum.
The museum was authorized with bipartisan support by the House and Senate in December 2020, and in March 2024, members of the DWC and RWC released a joint statement reaffirming support for building the museum and the need for such an institution to address 'critical gaps in our national story.'
'It's time that women's contributions to our great nation's history receive the recognition they deserve,' the letter reads.
It's the first bipartisan statement from the caucuses this year and comes amid sharp partisan divides over women's issues like reproductive health and gender ideology — as well as an unprecedented push by the presidential administration to influence museums. In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,' decrying the 'corrosive ideology' at American museums and falsely claiming 'the forthcoming Smithsonian American Women's History Museum plans on celebrating the exploits of male athletes participating in women's sports.'
'There are no transgender exhibits on their online museum, and they have no intention of having transgender exhibits in their museum when it's built,' Republican Women's Caucus Vice Chair Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) tells Women Rule.
'Museums should not have political tilts,' Malliotakis says. 'We want to make sure that the museum is reflective of women's history. … Making sure the museum's not woke … that it is representative of everyone and it properly reflects our history.'
Democratic Women's Caucus Chair Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.) tells Women Rule she hopes the museum would uphold 'the same thing that we expect of all of our Smithsonian institutions, that they exist independent of political pressure. We know that that's not necessarily the case right now.'
She says she's more focused on just securing funding for the museum now, and that 'our focus is not on [the potential political influence on the museum], because that's … something that will be taken up later.'
As Leger Fernandez sees it, the museum would positively influence the efforts for women's rights such as access to reproductive health care.
She says the museum could, for example, 'look at how we over history have brought down the number of deaths from childbirth, how midwives were very essential in bringing down the number of deaths from childbirth … we know that when women don't get care, we have higher likelihood of maternal morbidity and mortality. So this is an example of how women need care.'
Leaders of both caucuses say collaboration on the museum will pave the way for more bipartisan collaboration on women's policy.
Leger Fernandez tells Women Rule that she plans to have a meeting with RWC leadership to discuss collaboration on women's issues. 'That's an example of how we are not just going to be focused on the Women's History Museum, we're going to be looking at the issues that we face now,' she says.
'I think it's something that really brings Republicans and Democrats together and it has brought a lot of the women within Congress together, specifically,' Malliotakis says of the museum.
'Our nation's history has been shaped by strong, trailblazing women whose stories deserve to be told. Sharing those stories is the first step in honoring their monumental accomplishments. I'm proud to be a part of the effort to make the Smithsonian's American Women's History Museum a reality. This museum will stand as a tribute to their legacy and a source of inspiration for generations to come,' Republican Women's Caucus Chair Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) says in a statement to Women Rule.
Both Leger Fernandez and Malliotakis say they are confident that the museum will get the funding it needs, with support from both parties. They plan to locate it on the National Mall alongside the other Smithsonian museums.
In related news this week, the House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday unanimously advanced the bipartisan World War II Women's Memorial Location Act, authorizing the National Mall as the site for the memorial honoring the women who served on the homefront during World War II.
MORNING MONEY: CAPITAL RISK — POLITICO's flagship financial newsletter has a new Friday edition built for the economic era we're living in: one shaped by political volatility, disruption and a wave of policy decisions with sector-wide consequences. Each week, Morning Money: Capital Risk brings sharp reporting and analysis on how political risk is moving markets and how investors are adapting. Want to know how health care regulation, tariffs or court rulings could ripple through the economy? Start here.
POLITICO Special Report
Republicans Make a Last Gasp in Virginia as Winsome Earle-Sears Looks to Shake Up Her Campaign by Brakkton Booker for POLITICO: 'Virginia GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears is set to announce staff changes later this week, according to three people familiar with campaign personnel decisions — an attempt to turn things around as her campaign lags in polling and fundraising.
Earle-Sears, Virginia's lieutenant governor, is attempting to become the first Black woman ever elected governor in the nation's history, and the first Virginia Republican in nearly 30 years to succeed a sitting GOP governor. Democrats and Republicans alike see the governor's race as an important bellwether ahead of the 2026 midterms and an appraisal of President Donald Trump's first few months back in office.'
A Separatist Movement Is Brewing in Canada — But Don't Count on a 51st State by Mickey Djuric for POLITICO: 'Many Canadians are furious with President Donald Trump, aghast at his trade war and his calls to annex their country. Then there's Danielle Smith, premier of Alberta.
'We have a longstanding relationship with the Americans that goes back over 100 years, and it's going to last 100 years or more,' she says in an interview with POLITICO Magazine. Smith's approach may be distinct in part because she's a Conservative who meets regularly with Trump administration officials.'
Judges Oust Trump Ally Alina Habba as New Jersey's Top Prosecutor by Ry Rivard and Daniel Han for POLITICO: 'Federal judges declined to keep President Donald Trump's former personal attorney as New Jersey's top federal prosecutor, exercising an arcane statute to rebuff the Trump administration's wishes.
New Jersey district court judges voted to not let interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba stay on the job after her 120-day interim term expires, instead picking prosecutor Desiree Leigh Grace, according to a court order posted to the judiciary's website.'
Number of the Week
Read more on that here.
MUST READS
U.S. Olympic Officials Bar Transgender Women from Women's Competitions by Juliet Macur for The New York Times: 'The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee quietly changed its eligibility rules on Monday to bar transgender women from competing in Olympic women's sports, and now will comply with President Trump's executive order on the issue, according to a post on the organization's website.
The new policy, expressed in a short, vaguely worded paragraph, is tucked under the category of 'USOPC Athlete Safety Policy' on the site, and does not include details of how the ban will work. Nor does the new policy include the word 'transgender' or the title of Mr. Trump's executive order, 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports,' referring to it instead as 'Executive Order 14201.''
The Administration Wants Military Women to Know Their Place by Tom Nichols for The Atlantic:
'President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth seem to be on a mission to erase women from the top ranks of the U.S. armed forces. Last week, they took another step along this path by removing the first female head of the United States Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Maryland.
The Naval Academy was founded in 1845, but didn't admit its first class of women until 1976. The head of the school is known as the superintendent, and Annapolis would not get its first female admiral in that position until 2024. Now the first woman to serve as the 'supe' has been reassigned and replaced by a man, and for the first time in the academy's history, the role went to a Marine.'
Uber Is Testing a Women-only Driver Service. Here's How It Works. by Frances Vinall for The Washington Post: 'Uber will soon introduce a new ride-hailing feature in the United States that allows women to request female drivers, and gives women drivers the option to only accept trip requests from women.
The feature, called 'Women Preferences,' could help address long-standing safety concerns, as ride-sharing services have grappled with issues including assault. Uber said it was responding to feedback from women riders and drivers, offering them 'more choice, more confidence, and more flexibility.'
Quote of the Week
Read the full story here.
on the move
Danielle Sassoon is now a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. She previously was U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, from which she resigned in protest of Justice Department leadership. (h/t POLITICO Playbook)
PhRMA's public affairs team has added Elise Shutzer as VP (previously at ExxonMobil), Cait DeBaun as chief of staff (previously at American Beverage Association) and Kristen Booze as senior director (previously at the FDA). (h/t POLITICO Playbook).
Allyson Jones-Brimmer has been appointed executive director of the Northeast Dairy Producers Association, per Morning Agriculture. She has served as the group's vice president of regulatory and legislative affairs since November 2023. (h/t POLITICO Influence)