House Republicans introduced legislation this week that would ban flags other than the American flag from being flown over US diplomatic and consular posts after the Biden administration allowed Pride flags and Black Lives Matter flags to be Flags were raised by US embassies.
South Carolina Rep. Jeff Duncan’s Old Glory Only Act aims to roll back what Republicans call the Biden administration’s politicization of US embassies.
“Our beautiful flag, Old Glory, should be the only flag flying over our diplomatic and consular posts worldwide, representing our country,” Duncan said this week. “The American flag is a beacon of liberty, and no other flag or symbol represents our shared values better than the Stars and Stripes.”
The State Department will allow embassies to fly the Pride flag on the same pole as the US flag
A new GOP bill would ban the raising of BLM and Pride flags at US embassies and consulates.
“It’s important to ensure that Old Glory is only flown at American embassies to represent our ideals abroad,” he said. A congressional aide said there haven’t been concrete talks about passing the bill yet, but Republicans are optimistic the new GOP leadership will be ready to hold a vote given the GOP’s broad support for the idea.
The push to raise the rainbow flag began in 2014 under the Obama administration. The Pride flag has since flown over embassies in more than a dozen countries, including Russia, Spain, Sweden and South Korea.
According to Duncan’s office, the Black Lives Matter flag has been flown at US embassies in Brazil, Greece, Spain, Bosnia, Cambodia and South Korea.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken authorized embassies to fly BLM and Pride flags in 2021. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo banned the flying of these flags, but that decision was reversed under the Biden administration. In April 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken authorized embassies and consulates to fly the Rainbow Pride flag.
He approved the change just before May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, and said embassy leaders could ask if flying a Pride flag was “appropriate given local conditions.”
A month later, Blinken signaled support for allowing embassies to fly Black Lives Matter flags on the anniversary of George Floyd’s death. A leaked State Department memo said it “supports the use of the term ‘Black Lives Matter'” and authorizes officials to “display the BLM flag on the outward-facing flagpole to all mission chiefs who designate such a display in light of local.” is appropriate to the circumstances.”
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President Biden’s administration faces backlash from Republicans flying non-American flags overseas. (Anna Moneymaker)
These decisions led to Republican criticism that raising anything other than the American flag was a political statement that should not be made by official US embassies.
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In 2021, New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis proposed similar legislation to ban the use of other flags, saying the Biden administration allows the display of “inherently political flags that are in no way related to the U.S. Government are connected”.
Pete Kasperowicz is the politics editor at Fox News Digital.