The Trump administration fired another shot at “woke” influences in the federal government by targeting the display of Black Lives Matter and Pride flags.
Newly-appointed State Department Secretary Marco Rubio issued an order establishing a “One Flag Policy” which prohibits the display of any flag other than the American flag on U.S. outposts on American soil and abroad, according to the Washington Free Beacon, which originally reported on the development.
"Starting immediately, only the United States of America flag is authorized to be flown or displayed at U.S. facilities, both domestic and abroad, and featured in U.S. government content," the order states. "The flag of the United States of America united all Americans under the universal principles of justice, liberty, and democracy. These values, which are the bedrock of our great country, are shared by all American citizens, past and present."
Any State Department employee who violates the new policy will "face disciplinary action, including termination of employment or contract, or reassignment to their home agency." The only other flags that will be permitted to fly are the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) emblem and the Wrongful Detainees Flag.
"The U.S. flag is a powerful symbol of pride and it is fitting and respectful that only the U.S. flag be flown or displayed at U.S. facilities, both domestically and abroad," according to the policy memorandum.
This order means outposts will be barred from flying Black Lives Matter, Pride, and other flags expressing political viewpoints. It is being viewed as part of President Donald Trump’s crusade against far-leftist ideology in the federal government which was promoted by former President Joe Biden.
On Tuesday, the president issued an executive order to shutter DEI programs in the executive branch, placing its employees on paid leave.
The Office of Personnel Management issued a memo instructing each federal agency to “take prompt actions regarding the offices and agency sub-units focusing exclusively on DEIA initiatives and programs.”
The memo orders agencies to inform employees in these departments of the closure and ask “if they know of any efforts to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language” to describe them.”
The administration has also canceled any DEI trainings while terminating DEI-related contractors. Agencies will also be required to submit “A written plan for executing a reduction-in-force action regarding the employees who work in a DEIA office.”
🚨 BREAKING: The Trump administration has ordered every government agency to shut down their DEI offices by tomorrow at 5 PM. pic.twitter.com/fN9gIoI90z
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 22, 2025
These steps are part of fulfilling Trump’s campaign promise to eliminate DEI in the executive branch and halt the influence of far-leftist ideology in the government. There will likely be plenty of others coming over the next few weeks.
This is a welcome development – Biden and his team had fully embraced this aspect of far-leftist orthodoxy and sought to spread it throughout several government institutions including the military, education, and others. With Trump at the helm, it appears the “woke” era is over – at least for the time being.