Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is celebrating after his actions successfully led to the cancelation of a planned “child-friendly” drag show on Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base.
The cancelation came after Gaetz demanded answers from Pentagon leaders about why the drag show was happening despite their previous claims that they didn’t support these events on base.
The Florida congressman celebrated the victory in a post on Twitter.
“HUGE VICTORY: The Department of Defense has CANCELED a scheduled ‘child-friendly’ drag show after I demanded answers from @SecDef Austin and General Milley!” Gaetz tweeted.
HUGE VICTORY: The Department of Defense has CANCELED a scheduled "child-friendly" drag show after I demanded answers from @SecDef Austin and General Milley!
Drag shows should not be taking place on military installations with taxpayer dollars PERIOD!
READ:… https://t.co/YDByQihQod pic.twitter.com/vnJiuFlh2z
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) May 31, 2023
The cancelation was announced on Nellis LGBTQ+ Pride Council’s Facebook page.
“The Nellis LGBTQ+ Pride Council is saddened to inform you that we are no longer able to host our annual Pride Month Drag Show on Nellis AFB. We have received notification that the DoD has directed Commanders not to host Drag events on military installations,” the post read, according to Breitbart News.
The post went on to list other Pride Month events being held on the base that were not drag-related, including a panel, a “Paint with Pride” event, a mixer, a commemoration walk and a color run at the base gym.
“We will continue to celebrate the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community during PRIDE month. Come show your PRIDE with us!” the post continued.
During a congressional hearing in March, Gaetz pressed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Mark Milley about their support for drag shows and drag queen story hours on military bases.
Both Austin and Milley claimed that they were not aware of any of these events, but Gaetz pushed back and showed them evidence — including a packet containing news articles about several different drag-related events hosted on military bases.
Ultimately, Austin and Milley stated that they don’t support these types of events on base.
“Drag queen story hours is not something that the Department funds,” Austin claimed at the time.
In May, Gaetz discovered that a drag show had been scheduled for June 1 at the Nellis Air Force Base, and confronted Austin and Milley about it in a letter.
However, according to a report from NBC News, Milley was “visibly angry” when he learned about the planned drag show. Although it had been approved by Air Force leaders, Austin and Milley had both previously made it clear to the Air Force that funding drag shows on bases is not in line with DOD policy, noting that the event should be canceled or moved off base.
“Consistent with Secretary Austin’s congressional testimony, the Air Force will not host drag events at its installations or facilities. Commanders have been directed to either cancel or relocate these events to an off-base location,” an Air Force official told the outlet.
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh also released a statement to NBC News about the matter.
“Per DoD Joint Ethics Regulation (JER), certain criteria must be met for persons or organizations acting in non-Federal capacity to use DoD facilities and equipment,” Singh said. “As Secretary Austin has said, the DOD will not host drag events at U.S. military installations or facilities. Hosting these types of events in federally funded facilities is not a suitable use of DOD resources.”
This news comes as outrage continues over the U.S. military focusing more on the woke agenda than actually preparing soldiers to defend America, including the Navy’s recent decision to use a drag queen as a digital ambassador.
