House rejects bill creating Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum

A bipartisan effort to establish a Smithsonian American Women's History Museum on the National Mall collapsed Thursday when the House of Representatives rejected the necessary legislation. The bill failed in a 204-216 vote after last-minute revisions prompted widespread Democratic opposition and divided Republican ranks.

The legislation, which aimed to secure a building site for the previously authorized museum, was initially supported by over 230 cosponsors from both parties. The breakdown occurred after an amendment introduced in March by Republican Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois altered the bill's language. The revised text specified that the museum must be dedicated to the history of "biological women" and prohibited it from depicting "any biological male as a female." It also granted the president authority to designate an alternative location for the museum within 180 days if the initially specified site near 14th Street Southwest and Jefferson Drive was deemed unsuitable.

Democratic lawmakers condemned these changes, arguing they injected divisive cultural issues into the project and ceded excessive control to the executive branch. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico,...