Congresswoman pushing Trump to back women’s history museum on the Mall

New York Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney is on a mission to turn a president with a complicated legacy when it comes to women into a champion of their history.

The congresswoman from Manhattan’s Upper East Side, whose district includes Trump Tower, is personally lobbying Trump and his senior administration officials to support legislation that would create a Smithsonian museum dedicated to women’s history on the National Mall.

The museum is a longtime passion project for Maloney, who has, in recent weeks, been pressing the Trump administration hard for its support. In an interview, Maloney said she attended the congressional picnic hosted by the White House last month toting folders of material on the museum to hand out to the president’s top female advisors, and to Trump himself.

“I talked to Ivanka about it, I talked to Melania about it, I talked to Karen Pence about it, I talked to Kellyanne [Conway] about it,” Maloney said. “I handed it directly to the president and he said he would read it. I asked Kellyanne for advice on how to approach it. She said to talk to the president directly, she said she would not do it on my behalf.”