Eighteen House Republicans joined Democrats on Wednesday in killing an amendment to the 2024 Department of Defense Appropriations Act that would have barred taxpayer dollars from funding Pentagon-sponsored “Pride Month” celebrations.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) introduced the measure, which would have prohibited appropriated funds from going toward “the observance of Pride Month authorized by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness for the Cultural Observance and Awareness Events List.” Even though Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives, the amendment failed 231-202, with 18 Republicans siding with Democrats and four declining to vote.
The Department of Defense first began celebrating “pride month” in June of 2012 under the Obama administration. President Joe Biden’s administration has been voracious in its perpetuation and support of the LGBTQIA+ agenda.
This year alone, the U.S. Navy confirmed that it used a drag queen influencer as one of its “digital ambassadors” to attempt to recruit “a wide range of potential candidates,” and the military reportedly used taxpayer money to fly Air Force members to military pride events.
“I’m sure the Chinese military is quaking in its boots with the rainbow-tipped bullets being tweeted around the world,” Roy said during a speech on the House floor. Roy continued:
I have very few constituents who disagree with this sentiment: that we should be focused on having a military that is designed to, when called upon, to blow stuff up and kill people in defense of this country as needed, and to be the best fighting force to accomplish that objective in the world.
The Republicans who voted “No” on the amendment include:
Reps. Ken Buck (R-CO), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), John Curtis (R-UT), Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), John Duarte (R-CA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Tony Gonzales (R-TX), Dave Joyce (R-OH), Thomas Kean (R-NJ), Kevin Kiley (R-CA), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Marcus Molinaro (R-NY), Jay Obernolte (R-CA), and Michelle Steel (R-CA).
Breitbart News reached out to all 18 lawmakers for comment as to why they voted “No” on Roy’s amendment. Reps. Molinaro, LaLota, Fitzpatrick, D’Esposito, and Calvert replied by time of publication.
Molinaro told Breitbart News he voted against the amendment because it was “too broad.”
“I don’t support using taxpayer dollars for drag shows. I voted against that in the NDAA earlier this year and will work to keep that prohibition in policy,” Molinaro said. “My position hasn’t changed and my only issue with this amendment was it was too broad and could be used to infringe on individual rights.”
LaLota said that while he wants to “end wokeness” in various institutions, he also wants to “acknowledge and accept gay people.” His office noted that LaLota is a Navy Veteran on the Armed Services Committee and has previously supported NDAA amendments to ban drag shows and drag story hours.
“I am part of the Republican Party who wants to end wokeness, stop drag queen story hours in our schools and military, but at the same time acknowledge and accept gay people — some of whom are my family, friends, and who served alongside me in the military with honor and integrity,” LaLota said.
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Reagan McCarthy, communications director for Fitzpatrick, also indicated the amendment was too broad.
“Many LGBT Americans patriotically serve in our military, just like other groups of Americans,” McCarthy said. “This amendment solely dealt with whether or not the DOD could observe Pride Month in the same manner as the DOD recognizes the contributions of various groups through other observances, like Women’s History Month, Black History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and National Hispanic Heritage Month.”
D’Esposito likewise said the amendment was “too wide in scope.”
“The amendment in question was too wide in scope and unnecessarily singled out LGBT military service members during a period of time where we should be focusing on priorities like ending the ongoing border security crisis and funding our government,” D’Esposito said.
The office of Rep. Calvert, the lawmaker who crafted the Defense Appropriations bill, responded to Breitbart News by listing many parts of the bill designed to “stop[s] culture wars at the Pentagon.”
“The FY24 Defense Appropriations bill crafted by Chairman Calvert stops the culture wars at the Pentagon and focuses our military on winning actual wars. The bill prohibits the use of funds for events on military installations or as part of recruiting programs that bring discredit upon the military, such as a drag queen story hour for children or the use of drag queens as military recruiters,” Calvert’s office said.
“The bill prohibits the use of funds to promote or advance Critical Race Theory (CRT). The bill also prohibits the implementation of the Biden Administration’s executive orders on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). It prevents the Department from labeling American free speech as disinformation and revokes the clearances for the 50 individuals that signed the Hunter Biden laptop disinformation letter,” Calvert’s office continued. “The bill is the most aggressively conservative defense appropriations bill in decades and Chairman Calvert continues to focus on lethality, innovation, and taking care of our men and women in uniform.”
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.