President Trump’s State Department has enacted a “one flag policy,” banning U.S. embassies and overseas missions from flying pride or Black Lives Matter flags, per The Washington Free Beacon.
“Starting immediately, only the United States of America flag is authorized to be flown or displayed at U.S. facilities, both domestic and abroad, and featured in U.S. government content,” according to the order, a copy of which was obtained by The Beacon. Newsweek has not seen a copy of the order and cannot verify the report.
Newsweek has reached out to the State Department outside of normal hours via online contact form for confirmation, and will update this article if a response is received.
Why It Matters
The new directive, issued within days of taking office, gives an indication of how Trump will attempt to rollback Biden-era support for left-wing or progressive causes during his presidency.
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order terminating all diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI) within the federal government. A memo from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management later ordered that all federal DEI employees be placed on paid leave, as the administration works to abolish these initiatives.
During his inauguration speech, Trump also vowed that the U.S. Government would only recognize two genders, a stance later cemented as official policy through an executive order.
What To Know
According to The Washington Free Beacon, the latest order comes from the desk of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, unanimously confirmed by the Senate on Monday night in a 99-0 vote.
The order outlines that, aside from the stars and stripes, the only flags which are permitted to fly are the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action, officially recognized as a national symbol by Congress in 1990, and the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag, adopted in 2023 with the support of then-Senator Rubio.
During the Biden administration, U.S. government buildings frequently displayed other flags to express solidarity with more explicitly political causes, reversing the ban on such displays implemented in Trump’s first term.
In February 2022, the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Brazil raised the Black Lives Matter flag to “commemorate Black History Month” as well as the birthday of abolitionist and lawmaker Frederick Douglas. The same was later done at U.S. embassies in Trinidad and Tobago.
Pride flags have also been flown at several government buildings over the past four years, including the White House and the U.S. embassy in Moscow.
In 2021, the U.S. Embassy in Nassau announced that the rainbow colors would be flown for the entire month of June, leading to backlash from the Bahamas Christian Council, who saw this as “overreaching and insensitive to the moral and ideological position of this country.”
In May 2023, the Latvian Embassy in Riga raised the flag in commemoration of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.
Republicans had previously supported efforts to ban these flags from U.S. embassies, including this as a provision in the $1.2 trillion spending bill signed by former President Biden in March. “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,” the text of the bill read.
What People Are Saying
“The U.S. flag is a powerful symbol of pride and it is fitting and respectful that only the U.S. flag be flown or displayed at U.S. facilities, both domestically and abroad,” Rubio’s order reads, as reported by the Beacon.
Kevin Jennings, chief executive officer at Lambda Legal, an American civil rights organization focused on LGBTQ communities, told Newsweek: “Banning Pride and other flags is just petty and mean-spirited. Flying such flags is simply a signal to people that they matter. It hurts no one. We have much bigger challenges to address as a nation and this is just a small-minded distraction from them.”
Pro-Trump social media accounts have expressed their support for the move, one writing: “I’m just smiling away. Trump has had it right along with the rest of us. America The Beautiful The Country I Love Is Back.”
What Happens Next?
According to The Beacon, the order states that State Department employees who breach the new policy will “face disciplinary action, including termination of employment or contract, or reassignment to their home agency.”
