A Smithsonian museum honoring women has been stalled for years, waiting on Congress to clear the way for its construction. On Wednesday the House Administration panel advanced a measure that would finally place it on the National Mall.
But the vote on the once bipartisan issue fell along party lines, after Democrats pulled their support over last-minute changes that would ban transgender exhibits and give the final say on a location to President Donald Trump.
As amended, the bill would allow the museum to be built within the reserve of the Mall, where new construction is tightly controlled. While the bill names the so-called South Monument site across from the National Museum of African American History and Culture, it also hands the president the power to “designate an alternative site” of his choosing.
