"When was your gender revealed?": Mace and the Smithsonian's American History director
Rep. Nancy Mace's five minute round with Dr. Anthea Hartig, director of the National Museum of American History, at the House DOGE subcommittee's July 21, 2026 Smithsonian hearing, excerpted verbatim from the committee's own hearing feed: the interrupted greeting, the yes-or-no demands, the diary age mismatch, "what is a woman," and "when was your gender revealed."
On July 21, 2026, Rep. Nancy Mace used her five minutes at the House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency hearing, "Rewriting American History: Examining the Smithsonian's Efforts to Reshape the Past," to question Dr. Anthea Hartig, the Elizabeth MacMillan Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Hartig, a PhD historian, has led the museum since 2019 and is the first woman to hold the directorship.
Every line in this cut is verbatim from the committee's own hearing feed:
- The greeting: Hartig opens "Hi, good morning, ma'am." Mace: "Answer the question, how many kids?"
- The yes-or-no demands: "And are images of sexual fetishes appropriate for children? Yes or no?" She said "yes or no" four times in the first fifty seconds. Hartig's answer: "Ma'am, we strive to represent all Americans."
- The diary: Mace: "But it was a diary featuring a six-year-old." Hartig: "Ma'am, Girlhood, It's Complicated, was not an exhibit designed for children... The diary was of a 13-year-old going through puberty." ARTnews independently reports the diary excerpt was written by a 13-year-old.
- "What is a woman": "Today, do you believe that men can become women?" Hartig: "Ma'am, as the director of the museum, that's not relevant in this case." Mace asked "What is a woman?" three times.
- "When was your gender revealed": After citing an exhibit text that says "sometimes gender isn't revealed at birth," Mace asked: "So when was your gender revealed to you, Dr. Hartig?" Hartig: "So I don't really think that's relevant to the conversation."
Full dispatch with the timeline, attributed reactions, and every source: maceopedia.org/dispatches/2026-07-21-when-was-your-gender-revealed. Sources: the committee's official hearing video, PBS NewsHour's video of the round, and C-SPAN's gavel-to-gavel coverage.
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Nancy Mace spent her five minutes at the House DOGE subcommittee's Smithsonian hearing demanding yes-or-no answers from Dr. Anthea Hartig, the PhD historian who has led the National Museum of American History since 2019. On video, verbatim: 'what is a woman,' 'when was your gender revealed,' and a diary she called 'featuring a six-year-old' that the museum says was written by a 13-year-old.
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