Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly utilized the prohibition on the pride flag as a means to garner party support for the bill.
Congress has prohibited LGBTQ pride flags from being flown at US Embassies via a provision included in the controversial $1.2 trillion spending package that President Biden signed on Saturday.
The White House has since declared its intention to challenge the ban. As soon as the measure was signed, the Biden administration promised to work to have this particular provision removed from the bill, Bloomberg reports.
A White House spokesperson told NBC News: "The Administration fought against the inclusion of this policy and we 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."
The bill states: "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 other than the — United States flag; Foreign Service flag pursuant to 2 FAM, POW/MIA flag, Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag, pursuant to section 904 of title 36, United States Code, flag of a State, insular area, or the District of Columbia at domestic locations, flag of an Indian Tribal government, official branded flag of a United States agency or sovereign flag of other countries."
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