REPS. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS AND KAT CAMMACK: Why We Are Starting GOP Women’s Caucus
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we honor the remarkable achievements and contributions of American women throughout our nation’s history. Whether it’s the suffragists who fought for the right to vote, the…
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we honor the remarkable achievements and contributions of American women throughout our nation’s history.
Whether it’s the suffragists who fought for the right to vote, the riveters who stepped in while men fought during WWII or the “Black Angels” who helped find the cure to tuberculosis, American women have been instrumental in shaping our nation’s progress and success. On Wednesday, 37 female Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate joined President Donald Trump at the White House to launch the GOP Women’s Caucus.
The Republican party has a long history of championing women’s rights and protections. It was Republican Susan B. Anthony who led the suffrage movement. It was a Republican senator who sponsored the 19th Amendment to give women voting rights that was passed by a Republican-led Congress and ratified by a majority of Republican states. And four years prior, Republican Jeannette Rankin made history in 1916 as the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed Title IX into law to eliminate sex discrimination in education and athletics, opening doors for female athletes to receive scholarships. In 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor, also a Republican, made history as the first woman confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, paving the way for greater female representation in the legal system.
Most recently, Trump authorized the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum in 2020 and, in his first few days of his second term, signed an executive order to protect women in sports.
Among our caucus’s priorities is legislation to transfer the land so the Trump-authorized museum is built on the National Mall, where it will preserve both the told and untold stories of trailblazing women who helped shape our nation and pave the path for future generations. At the White House’s Women History Month celebration event, Trump endorsed the legislation “100%”.