Latest news with #RepublicanWomen'sCaucus
USA Today
a day ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Women's history museum has been a long time coming. Congress is trying again.
Lawmakers are renewing a bipartisan effort to buld a women's history museum on the National Mall. WASHINGTON ‒ In a rare Congressional effort crossing party lines, Democrat and GOP lawmakers are calling for funding for a new women's history museum on the National Mall that would join museums celebrating African American and Native American history. Supporters of the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum said it's important to have a place to showcase the critical role of women in the United States. 'Our nation's history has been shaped by strong, trailblazing women whose stories deserve to be told,'' Florida Rep. Kat Cammack, co-chair of the Republican Women's Caucus, said in a statement. 'Sharing those stories is the first step in honoring their monumental accomplishments.'' Members of the Democratic Women's Caucus and the Republican Women's Caucus sent a letter July 21 urging a congressional committee to support funding for the museum. The effort faces major hurdles, including the Trump administration's campaign to eliminate diversity initiatives and a push by Republican congressional leaders to drastically cut federal spending. 'It feels like just an absolute Herculean effort to even get people to remember that we are still fighting for this,'' Rep. Hillary Scholten, a Democrat from Michigan, told USA TODAY. 'It's just been such a challenging effort.' Bipartisanship effort 'truly unique' Republican and Democratic women lawmakers, including Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., have long pushed for the museum to join other Smithsonian Institution museums, including the National Museum of the American Indian and the National African American Museum of History and Culture. Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, and the late Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, introduced a measure in 2020 to establish the museum. Congress approved a package that included the women's history museum and the National Museum of the American Latino. Then-President Donald Trump signed the legislation. There have been related bills over the years, including one to build the museum on the National Mall and another to fund it. Scholten and others acknowledge the challenge to get funding this year, but urged the House Appropriations Committee last week to include it in a spending bill. 'We wanted to make it a priority, to put the women's history (museum) top of mind because as things are getting shut down, we want to say, 'Not this one. Remember how important this is as we move forward,'' she said. The fact that both Democrats and Republicans support the museum should help, said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. 'It's wonderful to see that this is coming from women on both sides of the aisle,'' she said. Scholten, a vice chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, said some women lawmakers are banding together around the issue. She noted there are a few other bipartisan efforts this Congress, including the congressional softball team. '(We) are united in making this happen so that we can tell the stories of women changemakers over the years,' she said. 'So many important stories that need to be told' While it has had bipartisan support, some Republican lawmakers have objected to the creation of museums they say are based on 'group identity.'' In 2020, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, blocked legislation to create the Latino and women's history museums saying 'the last thing we need is to further divide an already divided nation." The Trump administration has pushed to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across all federal agencies. Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order blasting institutions he said spread 'divisive ideology.' That order named some Smithsonian Institution museums, including the women's history museum. More: Trump sets sights on national African American history museum More: Civil rights leaders rally around National Museum of African American History Walsh said while efforts to share histories of women and people of color are labeled as DEI or dangerous, they help fill gaps in telling the nation's history. 'It isn't taught in schools and young people, young women and young men – all of us – need to know this history,' she said. Trump has shown signs of support for the women's history museum. At an event at the White House in March, Trump told Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., he supported her bipartisan bill to put the museum on the National Mall. 'You get that going and we're going to back it 100%,'' he said at an event this spring. Scholten said supporters welcome a meeting with Trump to discuss the museum. 'We would love to have an audience with him and explain the importance of this museum and why there's no reason it shouldn't be able to happen right now,'' she said.
The Hill
28-03-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) discusses Congressional proxy voting on 'The Hill on NewsNation'
"The Hill on NewsNation" host Blake Burman sits down with Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) to discuss the new Republican Women's Caucus, Congressional proxy voting and her special surprise announcement at the White House.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sen. Katie Britt to serve as co-chair of new Republican Women's Caucus
(WHNT) – On Wednesday, Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) announced that she, along with Congresswoman Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), would co-chair the White House's new Republican Women's Caucus. The group is made up of Republican women in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Alabama senators working to lower state's grocery tax The RWC says it will focus on prioritizing and elevating the voices of Republican women, growing their roles in leadership and supporting policies aimed at enhancing the quality of life for all Americans. 'I'm honored to join this bicameral effort with Congresswoman Cammack to launch the Republican Women's Caucus,' said Sen. Britt. 'Today marks a historic opportunity to build on the coalition President Trump built last November, and to address critical issues – from prosperity and opportunity, to safety and security – impacting our families and our future. The Republican Women's Caucus exemplifies our Party's unwavering commitment to empower women and girls and deliver real results for the American people.' The group's platform is 'American issues are women's issues.' You can find more information about the Republican Women's Caucus on their website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Republican Women's Caucus to ‘elevate' American women's voices
President Trump celebrated Women's History Month at the White House on Wednesday, and announced the brand new Republican Women's Caucus. Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., will be leading the group and says they will 'elevate the voices and issues' of women across the country. Cammack is also an advocate for in vitro fertilization, which she says has bipartisan support in Congress despite 'extremists' on both sides of the aisle. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
SCOOP: Trump joins launch of Congressional Women's Caucus at White House
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump is expected to be joined by female members of Congress at the White House on Wednesday for the launch of a Republican Women's Caucus. The initiative is being led by Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., according to an invitation obtained by Fox News Digital via another source attending the event. The caucus's goal will be to "champion GOP women members' legislative priorities," "support GOP women in a variety of endeavors on the national stage," and "push for representation in leadership positions." Its mission on leadership is particularly notable, considering the only woman leading a House committee in the 119th Congress is House Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C. The caucus is expected to be led by female Republicans in the Senate as well, though it's not immediately clear by whom. The White House had announced Trump would participate in a Women's History Month event but did not specify what it would entail. Fox News Digital reached out to Trump and Cammack's office for comment but did not hear back by press time. The invitation also encourages Republican lawmakers joining the caucus to send the group their top three legislative priorities. It's not a new initiative for Cammack, who has forged a path as a leader on women's issues in the past. She and Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., previously co-led the Bipartisan Women's Caucus in the 118th Congress. That is now being led by Reps. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, and Emilia Sykes, D-Ohio, and co-vice chairs Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and Janelle Bynum, D-Ore.
