A small group of congressional Republicans sent a letter to the Department of Defense criticizing the department’s LGBTQ agenda-pushing social media posts.
The letter, dated June 13 and sent to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, said “spending taxpayer dollars to advance the Left’s woke LGBTQ agenda is an unacceptable use of taxpayer dollars.”
The Republicans also wrote that Austin has “consistently demonstrated” a willingness to place far-left policies above readiness of America’s armed forces since becoming Secretary of Defense.
“The purpose of the United States military is to defend our nation and the freedoms we hold, making America the greatest country in the world,” they wrote. “It seems that under your watch, our military has been more focused on woke virtue signaling than the defense of our nation.”
The Republicans referenced two social media posts — one by the Marines and another by the U.S. Space Force recognizing the Air Force’s LGBTQ Initiative Team.
“These posts are a distraction from our armed forces’ primary purpose and have nothing to do with accomplishing their mission,” the letter said. “The men and women of our armed forces join to defend our freedoms and protect our country, not to advance a social agenda.”
Austin is asked to provide a breakdown by branch of how much money the Defense Department will spend on Pride month-related activities.
The letter was signed by:
Rep. Andy Biggs
Rep. Bob Good
Rep. Mary Miller
Rep. Lauren Boebert
Rep. Mo Brooks
Rep. Jeff Duncan
Rep. Andrew Clyde
Rep. Louie Gohmert
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Rep. Ralph Norman
Rep. Vicky Hartzler
Rep. Dan Bishop
Rep. Diana Harshbarger
