EXCLUSIVE — House Republicans are pushing legislation that would ban the flying of any flag other than the U.S. flag above public buildings, an effort more likely to become law now that there is a GOP trifecta.
Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) is reintroducing the One Flag For All Act, which she sponsored last Congress in response to the White House flying the pride flag under President Joe Biden. The decision sparked ire among House Republicans, who blasted the move as a way to sow division instead of Democrats’ claim it was promoting inclusion.
“Boy, did I get emails and calls from the district, and they’re like, ‘This is unacceptable. This hasn’t happened before,'” Harshbarger said in an exclusive interview on her bill with the Washington Examiner.
The bill comes after President Donald Trump ordered the “One Flag Policy,” which instructs the State Department to ban the Black Lives Matter, LGBT pride, or any other flags aligning with left-leaning policies from flying over any U.S. government buildings anywhere in the world. The policy decision came just a few days after Trump took office, part of a slew of executive orders targeting ending “wokeness” in the federal government.
Harshbarger’s bill, also supported by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) in the Senate, has a higher probability of becoming law now that Trump is in the White House. The bill was not taken up for a vote during the 118th Congress, but the policy was tucked into appropriations legislation in March 2024 for State Department facilities.
Under Harshbarger’s broader legislation for all federal buildings, multiple flags are exempt from the ban, including the National League of Families POW/MIA flag, member of Congress’s state flags, flags representing a branch of the armed forces, and flags representing a visiting diplomat’s or representative’s nation.
White House administrations have fallen along party lines regarding flag display rules. In 2019, the State Department under the Trump administration rejected requests from several embassies to fly the pride flag on the facilities’ pole during June, which is LGBT Pride Month. However, under the Biden administration, the State Department reversed course and allowed for the pride flag.
Biden’s ability to easily reverse Trump’s policy decision was one of the driving forces behind Harshbarger’s bill, she said. House Republicans have introduced new legislation or reintroduced several bills since gaining the trifecta that would codify Trump’s executive orders into law, stating the policies are a legislative road map for the conference.
“The Left is never going to stop at anything to do what they think is right,” Harshbarger said. “So if you get this codified into legislation, this bill will keep — the only thing you can fly on things like federal public buildings will be the American flag.”
Harshbarger added that many veterans, including those who live in her district, have told her that the “symbol” of the American flag should not be “overshadowed” by other things like the pride flag.
“This flag represents our great nation’s core values of liberty, freedom, and patriotism, and it’s a symbol that everyone understands and they’re proud — if you’re an American, you should be proud when you see that flag,” the Tennessee congresswoman said.
The legislation has 19 co-sponsors, including Reps. Maria Salazar (R-FL), Wesley Hunt (R-TX), Mary Miller (R-IL), Rick Crawford (R-AR), Derek Schmidt (R-KS), Troy Nehls (R-TX), Randy Weber (R-TX), Daniel Webster (R-FL), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Barry Moore (R-AL), Jim Baird (R-IN), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), John Rutherford (R-FL), Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), Tracey Mann (R-KS), Greg Murphy (R-NC), Laurel Lee (R-FL), Abraham Hamadeh (R-AZ), and Byron Donalds (R-FL).
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Marshall said in a statement to the Washington Examiner that the legislation will ensure “rogue politicians and bureaucrats never deface our sacred symbol again.”
“Never again should a flag that promotes radical gender ideology be flown, draped, or displayed outside the White House or any other federal building,” Marshall said. “The American flag is our nation’s symbol and should be the primary flag proudly flown over government property.”