Republican Representative Seeks to Ban Foreign Flags on House Floor

JANUARY 22, 2025 — On 16 January, Kat Cammack, a Republican Representative from North Florida, has reintroduced a resolution aiming to prohibit the display of foreign flags on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, reports the Floridian Press.

The measure was initially proposed last April in response to House Democrats celebrating the passage of a $95 billion aid package to Ukraine and Israel by waving Ukrainian flags on the House floor. The gesture prompted backlash from Republican lawmakers.

Rep. Cammack emphasized her belief that the House should reflect unity under a single banner.

“On the floor of the United States House of Representatives, there should only be one flag on display: ours,” she stated. “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.”

Florida Politics say that the proposed resolution includes provisions for limited exceptions, allowing foreign flags as part of lapel pins or during exhibits in speeches or debates under the rules of the House. Enforcement of the ban would fall under the jurisdiction of the House Sergeant-at-Arms.

Debates over similar measures have arisen elsewhere. In Rhode Island, the state House of Representatives is weighing a ban on desk flags, according to the Providence Journal.

House Republican Leader Michael Chippendale defended the proposal, calling it a “decluttering bill.”

“It had gotten to the point where, on our desks, we had so many flags waving and banners hanging that it did not look terribly professional,” Chippendale explained.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, however, opposed the measure, citing potential infringement on legislators’ symbolic expressions.