U.S. Embassies Prohibited from Flying Pride Flag Under New Government Spending Bill

As part of the enormous government funding package President Biden signed, a provision bans LGBTQ Pride flags at U.S. embassies. Despite this, the White House is committed to repealing the provision.

The prohibition, part of the $1.2 trillion package funding the government till September, was passed early Saturday.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly leveraged the Pride flag ban to secure votes for the bill in his chamber, according to the Daily Beast.

The White House is keen to overturn the ban on the rainbow flag, symbolizing the LGBTQ equality movement. “The president is committed to fighting for LGBTQI+ equality at home and abroad,” a statement affirmed.

Despite the flag proposal passing, the White House was able to defeat 50+ other policy riders targeting the LGBTQI+ community that Congressional Republicans proposed.

The law signed by Biden restricts using U.S. funding to fly non-government related flags over State Department facilities, but the Biden camp contends this doesn’t prevent display elsewhere within embassies.

According to the White House, this won’t impact LGBTQI+ community members’ ability to openly serve in embassies or celebrate Pride.

The Biden administration has strongly embraced LGBTQ rights. In a noticeable departure from the Trump administration, Secretary of State Antony Blinken encouraged U.S. missions to display the rainbow flag during Pride month.

Unlike Mike Pompeo, Blinken’s predecessor, who only permitted the U.S. flag on embassy flagpoles.

Back in 2015, the Obama administration illuminated the White House in rainbow colors to celebrate the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.