Hamadeh Introduces Resolution Banning Non-American Flags from Congress

Representative Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) introduced a resolution banning non-American flags from the halls of Congress, saying, "President Trump just cleaned up our embassies with the One Flag policy; time we do the same in the People's House."

Days into his second term, President Donald Trump reinstituted his "One Flag" policy, which banned government buildings, including American embassies, from flying Pride flags, Black Lives Matter flags, and other progressive symbols aside from the POW-MIA flag and wrongful detainees flag.

Rep. Hamadeh's resolution would establish similar rules in the House of Representatives but with wider allowance for Armed Forces flags, the national flags of visiting diplomats, State flags for Members of Congress displaying the flag at their official office, and Tribal flags.

In his press release, Rep. Hamadeh recalled his service in the Army as a Captain, saying, "As a former U.S. Army Intelligence officer, I proudly bore the American flag on my sleeve while fighting for the right of my colleagues to wave any flag espousing anti-American ideologies they so choose, however, the halls of Congress should not be littered with silly symbols of their misguided choices."

Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), the bill's cosponsor, added, "When visitors walk through the hallowed halls of Congress, they shouldn't be forced to see flags that represent radical ideologies. This is the people's house, and there's only one flag that represents all the citizens of our country. I recently introduced the One Flag for All Act, and I'm happy to see Rep. Hamadeh go the extra mile with this resolution. I'm proud to support it."

In January, before Trump's inauguration, Representative Kat Cammack (R-FL) introduced a similar resolution to ban the display of foreign flags on the House floor, except as lapel pins or as part of an exhibit during speeches or debates.

"On the floor of the United States House of Representatives, there should only be one flag on display: ours," said Rep. Cammack.

Grayson Bakich

Florida born and raised, Grayson Bakich is a recent recipient of a Master’s Degree in Political Science at the University of Central Florida. His thesis examined recent trends in political polarization and how this leads into justification of violence.