Quick Hit

President Joe Biden has signed a $1.2 trillion government funding bill that includes a provision prohibiting the display of LGBTQ pride flags at U.S. embassies worldwide. The move has sparked controversy and opposition, with the White House pledging to fight the ban.

Key Details

• The funding bill, signed on Saturday, indirectly supports a Republican plan to stop the display of LGBTQ Pride flags at U.S. government buildings.
• Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly used the ban to gain support for the bill from his party.
• The Biden administration has pledged to overturn this specific clause, expressing opposition to the ban.

Diving Deeper

The ban on the pride flag is part of a larger package of issues included in the bill, which was passed to fund the government until September. The bill, which spans 1,012 pages, does not specifically mention the ban of Pride flags at U.S. embassies. Instead, it states that no funds appropriated by the Act may be used to fly or display a flag over a facility of the United States Department of State other than the U.S. flag, the Foreign Service flag, the POW/MIA flag, the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag, the flag of a State, insular area, or the District of Columbia at domestic locations, the flag of an Indian Tribal government, the official branded flag of a United States agency, or the sovereign flag of other countries.

Democratic Texas Rep. Greg Casar expressed his disapproval of the provision, stating, "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." Republican Florida Rep. Cory Mills, on the other hand, expressed disappointment that this policy had to be included, suggesting that it is part of a larger issue with the Democrats' focus on diversity.

The White House has announced its intention to fight the ban. Immediately after the bill was signed, the Biden administration pledged efforts to overturn this specific clause.