Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), the chairman of the Anti-Woke Caucus, told Breitbart News in an exclusive statement on Thursday that House Republicans must defund President Joe Biden’s woke agenda through the State Department appropriations bill.
Banks spoke to Breitbart News as House Republicans continue to work on passing their 12 appropriations as part of a strategy to push Senate Democrats and Biden to negotiate a future spending bill.
U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) speaks at a House Republican news conference (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images).
The Hoosier conservative, who is running for Senate to replace the outgoing Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), said in a written statement to Breitbart News, “House Republicans must use the State Department appropriations bill to defund the Biden administrations’ radical, woke agenda.”
The Biden administration has appeared to weaponize agencies that involve diplomacy to advance the Biden woke LGBTQI agenda.
For instance, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) promotes “inclusive development” to:
- “Support the enactment of robust protections, inclusion, and human rights for all LGBTQI+ individuals.”
- “Support a world in which LGBTQI+ persons can live with dignity and free from all forms of violence, discrimination, stigma, and criminalization.”
The USAID also defines “inclusive development” as an “approach built on the understanding that every individual and community, of all diverse identities and experiences, is instrumental in the transformation of their own societies. LGBTQI+ persons’ engagement throughout the development process leads to better outcomes.”
Banks and other conservatives wrote to the Appropriations Committee in March, asking that they defund all programs that discriminate on race and disparage America’s “core ideals.”
The programs include:
- $200 million for the Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund
- $25 million for the Global Equality Fund
- $20 million for USAID to implement the goals and objectives of the agency’s new strategy on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Indeed, it appears that the Republican State Department appropriations bill would defund many of these “woke” programs.
The House Republican appropriations bill:
- Bars funding for the Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund
- Reduces USAID operating expenses by $528 million below the fiscal year 2023 budget for the agency
- “Prohibits funding for Special Envoys, Special Representatives, Special Coordinators and Special Advisors unless such positions are expressly authorized or have affirmatively received the advice and consent of the Senate. This change eliminates 33 Special Envoys and Special Representatives at the Department of State, including the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Special Envoy for Racial Equity and Justice, Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons, Special Envoy for International Labor Affairs, and Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs.”
- “Prohibits implementation of the Biden Administration’s Executive Orders on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).”
- “Prohibits funds for drag shows.”
- “Prohibits the use of funds to promote or advance Critical Race Theory.”
Drag Queen Brigitte Bandit speaks with Keanya Philyan, 5, during a story time reading at the Cheer Up Charlies dive bar on March 11, 2023, in Austin, Texas (Brandon Bell/Getty Images).
House Republican Conference chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) explained in an interview with Breitbart News in May how the debt ceiling deal gives Republicans leverage to defund Biden’s woke agenda.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
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