State Department blocks pride, BLM flags from embassies, outposts with ‘one flag policy’

The U.S. State Department has adopted a new policy under the Trump administration that effectively blocks U.S. embassies and outposts from flying Pride and Black Lives Matter flags, a report said Tuesday.

The Washington Free Beacon first reported that it obtained a copy of the “One Flag Policy” order, which permits only the American flag to be flown at U.S. facilities at home and abroad, with two notable exceptions: the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) emblem and the Wrongful Detainees Flag.

“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 memo states, according to the outlet. “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.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department for confirmation about the “One Flag Policy,” but did not immediately hear back.

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Black Lives Matter and Pride flags

The policy comes after the Biden administration courted controversy over the last four years over flying such flags, igniting lengthy debates between Democrats and Republicans. 

American flags and a pride flag hang from the White House before a Pride Month celebration on the South Lawn, June 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Former President Joe Biden caught flack for flying the Pride flag outside the White House during a Pride Month celebration in 2023, and in 2021 for a leaked State Department memo that encouraged U.S. embassies to display Black Lives Matter flags on the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder.

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The controversies led GOP lawmakers in 2023 to introduce a bill known as the One Flag for All Act, which proposed to make it illegal to fly, drape or display any flag other than the American flag on federal buildings or properties, with limited exceptions.

Biden speaks during a Pride celebration on the South Lawn of the White House on June 10, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Pride flags were first flown at U.S. embassies during former President Barack Obama’s administration, according to Forbes, prior to being banned by the Trump administration in 2019. The ability was reinstated by the Biden administration in 2021, Forbes reports. 

Pride flags were later banned from being flown outside U.S. embassies in March 2024 as part of a $1.2 trillion spending package Biden signed.

President Donald Trump vowed to immediately shake up the State Department upon taking office, with one source familiar with the situation telling Fox News that the new Trump administration will immediately move new officials into key operational roles at the State Department to ensure the department is carrying out the Trump foreign policy agenda from day one.

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Trump’s Secretary of State nominee, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, was unanimously confirmed to the Cabinet post on Tuesday.

Fox News Digital’s Pilar Arias contributed to this report.