GOP Lawmaker Introduces Resolution to Ban Foreign Flags on House Floor

Rep. Kat Cammack asks questions during a hearing in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill, on June 14, 2022. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A Republican House member has introduced a resolution to ban members of Congress “from bringing or displaying a flag of a foreign nation on the floor of the House.”

The resolution is a response to last week’s incident where House Democrats and a small number of Republicans waved Ukraine flags after the House passed a $95 billion foreign aid package, which gives $61 billion to Ukraine to support its fight against Russia’s invasion.

“On the floor of the United States House of Representatives, there should only be one flag on display: ours,” Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) said in a press release on April 26 when introducing the bill. “We make serious decisions on behalf of the American people and their taxpayer dollars on the House floor.”

“This business should be carried out beneath no other banner than our stars and stripes to remind us of who we represent and why this nation is the greatest in the history of the world. I’m glad to have earned the support of dozens of my colleagues who join me in standing up for the American people and putting our nation before all others,” Ms. Cammack added.

The resolution mandates that House members are not allowed to bring or display any flag of a foreign nation of any size during a House session. The House sergeant-at-arms will enforce the proposed ban.

Exceptions only apply to a lapel pin of a foreign nation worn by House members and a depiction of a foreign flag as part of an exhibit during a speech or debate under the House rules.

House Democrats have been under fire for waving Ukraine flags in the House chamber after the foreign aid package vote.

On April 20, right after the vote in the lower chamber, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) strongly reacted to the Ukraine flag-waving incident as she took the microphone and shouted to her fellow lawmakers to “put those [expletive] flags down.” She later posted on social media plaform X, saying, “It is a disgrace to display any other flag than the American flag in the House Chamber!”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) also condemned the move. “Ukrainian flags fly in the chamber of the UNITED STATES House of Representatives as they vote to send more of your hard-earned money to a corrupt foreign regime,” Mr. Paul wrote in a post on X. “And just like that they shout ‘UKRAINE! UKRAINE!’ while happily working to secure Ukraine’s borders, not ours.”

Ms. Cammack’s legislation gained support from multiple GOP co-sponsors, who criticized the move by House Democrats. Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) said, “It is unacceptable for a Member to be waving any flag on the House floor that is not the American flag.” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) echoed this sentiment, stating, “Members of Congress should never wave the flag of another nation on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

Three days after the House passed the foreign aid package, the Senate approved the legislation in a 79–18 vote. President Joe Biden quickly signed the bill into law on April 24. The package gives $61 billion to Ukraine, $26 billion to Israel, and $8 billion to Taiwan. The bill also includes a potential TikTok ban and provisions that would allow the seizure of frozen Russian assets to help pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction.

The United States has an official flag day on June 14. President Woodrow Wilson declared a presidential proclamation to establish a National Flag Day on June 14, 1916.

In 1949, Congress passed legislation officially designating June 14 as National Flag Day, which President Harry Truman signed into law. The law also called upon the president to issue a proclamation to mark the day every year.