The government spending bill signed by President Joe Biden last week includes a ban on LGBTQ Pride flags at U.S. embassies, but the White House has since vowed to repeal the policy move.
A spokesperson for the White House told Axios on Sunday that Biden “believes it was inappropriate to abuse the process that was essential to keep the government open by including this policy targeting LGBTQI+ Americans.”
The Biden administration, the spokesperson added, “fought against the inclusion of this policy and … will continue to work with members of Congress to find an opportunity to repeal it.”
“We were successful in defeating 50+ other policy riders attacking the LGBTQI+ community that Congressional Republicans attempted to insert into the legislation. President Biden is committed to fighting for LGBTQI+ equality at home and abroad,” the spokesperson said.
U.S. embassies began to display Pride flags under former President Barack Obama, Forbes reported, but the practice was dropped by former President Donald Trump and then brought back under Biden. Trump implemented a Pride flag ban at the Pentagon and military bases that remains in place.
The more than 1,000-page spending package passed by the Republican-led House reimplements the U.S. embassy ban on Pride flags.
“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 bill states, per Fox News.
The spending package also disbanded the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion on Monday, which will be replaced by the Office of Talent Management.
