Why Did 18 House Republicans Just Vote For A Woke Military?

While the ouster of Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is now dominating headlines, another storyline worth following in the aftermath of the government funding battle is the 18 Republican lawmakers who inexplicably sided with Democrats to continue allowing taxpayer-funded LGBTQ+ observances in the military like the drag shows and “drag queen story hour” events for kids.

During the debate over the Continuing Resolution that played a significant role in costing McCarthy his job, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) introduced an amendment to “prohibit funds from being used to carry out the observance of Pride Month authorized by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness for the Cultural Observances and Awareness Events List.”

Although it is likely obvious to most Americans that taxpayer dollars should not be allocated towards “Pride Month” celebrations, as The Federalist reported last week, “18 Republicans, including House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., sided with Democrats in voting against the amendment”—ultimately killing the measure in a 231-202 vote.

The 18 Republicans who provided the necessary votes to reject the amendment are Representatives Buck (R-CO), Calvert (R-CA), Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Curtis (R-UT), D’Esposito (R-NY), Duarte (R-CA), Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Garbarino (R-NY), Gonzalez (R-TX), Joyce (R-OH), Kean (R-NJ), Kiley (R-CA), LaLota (R-NY), Lawler (R-NY), Mace (R-SC), Molinaro (R-NY), Obernolte (R-CA), and Steel (R-CA).

Also worth noting is the fact that McCarthy made no discernible effort to push for the amendment’s inclusion in the final bill.

In the not-so-distant past, the mere thought of federal funds being used to actively promote LGBTQ+-themed events within the military—including drag shows for children—would have been not only laughable, but also immediately struck down by a bipartisan congressional majority.

The present reality that nearly 10 percent of the House Republican delegation is intentionally enabling taxpayer-funded drag shows as part of U.S. military operations should thus be of grave concern to American voters who elected a Republican House majority to clamp down on precisely these kinds of left-wing legislative overreaches. . . . (read more on AMAC)