After the Daughters of the American Revolution rejected a resolution to keep membership limited to biological women, the head of the Texas DAR sent an email threatening members who speak out against the decision.
The vote at DAR’s 135th Continental Congress in Washington, D.C. failed 1,481 to 984.
Texas Regent Susan Johnston warned members that speaking to the press about the vote “is a serious violation of NSDAR policy, which could result in disciplinary action against a member,” according to an email obtained by The Federalist.
Texas DAR members are forwarding a nastygram from their regent Susan Johnston, a strong supporter of transing DAR. She is chastizing women who don’t support the transing of the heritage organization and threatening members who speak out against her efforts.
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) June 30, 2026
Johnston directed members approached by the press to refer them to DAR President General Ginnie Sebastian Storage — the only person “who can speak for the national society.”
Storage is a member of the pro-trans Facebook group Daughters for Inclusivity, which worked to defeat the women-only resolution. After the vote, Storage told members who “felt discouraged or unwelcome” that they “remain a valued Daughter.”
Storage also liked a Facebook post from a self-described “trans daughter” using her personal account.
“Before you accept the claim that DAR’s leaders are corrupt, political, ‘woke,’ or otherwise harmful to our organization, take a few minutes to study the issue yourself,” Johnston wrote.
The email appears to target Daughters Advocating for Restoration, a group fighting to preserve the DAR as women-only. The group chose black and white as their colors “to represent the spiritual battle that we’re in — the dark vs. the light — good vs. evil.”
Johnston cited a legal opinion from Samuel Bagenstos, a University of Michigan law professor and former Biden appointee. Bagenstos argued the women-only resolution would cost DAR its business license and tax-exempt status under D.C. law.
“The legal opinion was written by left-wing activist Professor Samuel Bagenstos, who worked for Eric Holder at DOJ and clerked for the notoriously radical Stephen Reinhardt,” Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway said. “He has previously done legal work advocating for radical trans ideology.”
What Johnston left out: the Daughters Advocating for Restoration obtained their own legal opinion.
The Center for American Liberty — founded by Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon — concluded it is legal for DAR to restrict membership to women only. Dhillon called the threat of losing tax-exempt status “highly unlikely” and said any attempt to revoke it “would likely violate the DAR’s associational rights.”
At the Continental Congress, members were presented with Bagenstos’s opinion but were banned from reading or mentioning any other legal documents, according to Laura McDonald, founder of Daughters Advocating for Restoration.
Members never saw Dhillon’s countering memorandum.
McDonald said she tried repeatedly to contact Texas state leadership about the issue with no response. “In the summer of 2024, I started reaching out to the Texas State Regent, asking for an audience with her,” she said. “Unfortunately, she refused to meet with me or even speak with me over the phone.”
McDonald was removed from private DAR social media pages and only reinstated after promising not to raise the issue.
The vote was originally scheduled for October. Instead, DAR leadership added it as an agenda item for the June Continental Congress — meaning many members had no idea a vote was happening.
“As a result, only about 3% of the membership were notified, and many members were confused and pre-occupied with Congress activities,” McDonald said.
The legal opinion was written by left-wing activist Professor Samuel Bagenstos, who worked for Eric Holder at DOJ and clerked for the notoriously radical Stephen Reinhardt. He has previously done legal work advocating for radical trans ideology.
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) June 30, 2026
