WASHINGTON — In 2020, Congress greenlit a bipartisan plan to build a women’s history museum in the nation’s capital — an effort that has drawn widespread bipartisan support and raised tens of millions of dollars.
But over five years later, the initiative is still stalled on Capitol Hill, frustrating and confusing supporters in both parties while sparking a blame game inside the GOP.
The Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act, which was introduced last February, would secure a site for the museum by authorizing a plot of land on the National Mall to be transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. This is seen as the final legislative step in a decadelong process to create a national Smithsonian museum dedicated to women’s history.
The land transfer bill itself would not cost any money, and the project has raised $70 million in private donations to help with construction, which would be eligible for matching federal funds, according to the bill’s chief sponsor in the House, GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York.
There’s widespread support in Congress for the initiative: 123 Democrats and 99 Republicans are backing the bill in the House, along with President Donald Trump, who praised the measure during a women’s history month event at the White House in March.
“We have a great site. … It’s gonna be a big, beautiful museum,” Trump said. “We’re working on that, and we’re gonna back it 100%.”
Speaking to NBC News late last month, Malliotakis blamed House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for the holdup, in just the latest example of Republican women openly expressing frustration with the speaker.
In a brief interview Tuesday, Malliotakis offered an update: “This is a history that needs to be told, and no one in Republican leadership should be standing in the way of this getting done. I’m frustrated, because I’m told one thing, and it doesn’t come to fruition.”
Malliotakis told NBC News she and other stakeholders had a meeting with Johnson at the beginning of last year, where she says they were given private assurances that the speaker would help move the bill along. Malliotakis left that meeting under the impression the legislation would advance in a timely manner.
But one year later, the legislation has gone nowhere. Not only has it not received a floor vote, but it hasn’t gone through committee or received a hearing. Some Republicans have fretted about the price tag for operating and maintaining another Smithsonian museum, which would be addressed in the annual appropriations process, and have questioned the necessity of a separate museum just for women.
Last week, after the House returned from its recess, Malliotakis said she did have some positive conversations with key committee leaders, as well as Johnson himself, that left her more encouraged about the prospects for the bill. She also noted the bill had recently gained 223 co-sponsors — a key metric, given that’s more than the necessary number to trigger a discharge petition in the House, which would force a vote on the matter.
But there are still no concrete plans to schedule a committee markup or floor vote anytime soon, according to two GOP sources familiar with the matter.
Malliotakis says she’s now giving leadership the benefit of the doubt that they’ll work with her on the bill.
“I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to do it through regular order in time for this Women’s History Month,” Malliotakis said. “That is my goal.”
Johnson’s office declined to comment on private conversations among members. But a senior GOP leadership aide said they have not been made aware of any major issues with the bill; it just hasn’t been made a priority yet. In addition, the House Administration Committee — which has jurisdiction over the legislation — has been busy with a congressional stock trading ban.
Malliotakis said she has raised her concerns about the museum delay not only with White House staff members, but also directly with Trump, whom she met with around Labor Day.
At one point, the White House discussed whether it could just transfer the land via executive action, according to Malliotakis. But that does not appear to be a viable course of action.
The White House also declined to comment.
Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, the lead Democratic co-sponsor, told NBC News all options are on the table — including a potential discharge petition to go around leadership’s head and force floor action.
“It’s time we recognize the role of women. And I’m working closely with her to get this done,” Dingell said, referring to Malliotakis.
A women’s history museum has long been in the works. In 2014, Congress established a bipartisan congressional commission to study the feasibility of building an American museum of women’s history.
The commission unanimously determined that the United States ought to have a physical national museum dedicated to celebrating the history and impact of women, given that the country has greatly benefited from their contributions.
The commission also concluded that women’s achievements are often underrepresented in historical accounts, monuments, memorials and museums.
But the effort has faced hurdles and resistance, particularly from Republicans. Some GOP lawmakers have expressed concern that the federal government will be on the hook for keeping the museum afloat and argue women’s history should just be incorporated into the existing national museums instead of establishing a separate one.
While Trump supports the women’s museum, he also signed an executive order last March targeting Smithsonian museums over “improper, divisive or anti-American ideology.” The executive order mentions that “the forthcoming Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum plans on celebrating the exploits of male athletes participating in women’s sports,” as just one of several examples.
The Smithsonian Institute, which consists of 21 museums, includes the National Museum of the American Indian, opened in 2004, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, opened in 2016. There are also efforts to open a National Museum of the American Latino and a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture.
In December 2020, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah blocked an effort to pass stand-alone legislation to establish museums for both women and Latinos.
“The last thing we need is to further divide an already divided nation with an array of segregated, separate-but-equal museums for hyphenated identity groups,” Lee said at the time.
Weeks later, Congress authorized the creation of the women’s history museum as part of a massive year-end spending package, which was signed into law by Trump.
