The bipartisan measure to avert a government shutdown includes a provision that would effectively ban LGBTQ Pride flags from flying over U.S. embassies.
Although the $1.2 trillion, 1,012-page-package does not explicitly mention barring Pride flags from flying at U.S. embassies, its text embraces a Republican-led effort to prohibit the display of the LGBTQ Pride flag at government buildings.
“None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be obligated or expended to fly or display a flag over a facility of the United States Department of State” other than the U.S. flag, the POW/MIA flag, the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag, flag of a state, flag of an Indian Tribal government, official branded flag of a U.S. agency or the sovereign flag of other countries, the text reads.
The Biden administration urged Congress to pass the spending bill, describing it as a “compromise between Republicans and Democrats” in a statement the White House released Thursday. The measure would keep the government funded through Sept. 30 ahead of a midnight deadline.
The White House did not mention the provision regarding flags flying over U.S. embassies in its statement and did not respond to a request for comment.
At least one Democrat slammed the provision. Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, the progressive caucus whip, chalked it up as “laughable.”
“It shows just how low the Republican Party has gotten that they’ve threatened to shut down government services over trying to figure out which flags can be flown in front of which buildings,” Casar told reporters. “I think it’s laughable, not just to Democratic voters but to Republican voters.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly touted the provision as a victory in a closed-door meeting with other Republican lawmakers on Wednesday morning, according to Bloomberg.
Some LGBTQ advocates downplayed the provision’s impact and pointed to successful efforts from…
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