U.S. Capitol visitors who approach the House side of the building this Flag Day will encounter three massive Old Glories courtesy of the chamber's GOP leaders. The Democrat-led Senate side, however, is a bit less inspiring.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) on Wednesday revealed his "Celebration of Flag Day at the People's House," tweeting a photo of three large American flags hanging from the building's pillars. But on the other side of the building, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) planned no such celebration. Photos of the building's Senate side obtained by the Washington Free Beacon show no flags, with a small number of visitors in front of the chamber seemingly ignoring its entrance in favor of the Capitol's other areas.
Schumer, whose office did not return a request for comment, has not publicly commemorated the holiday. Instead, the Democrat spent Wednesday afternoon blasting Republicans for advancing "a sweeping array of new tax giveaways."
President Joe Biden issued a Flag Day proclamation on June 9, with the Democrat directing "the appropriate officials to display the flag on all Federal Government buildings during this week." Just one day later, the White House flew a "Progress Pride Flag" from the White House's portico during a Pride event, which saw a transgender activist flash artificial breasts on the South Lawn after meeting Biden.
The Pride flag's inclusion prompted criticism from Republicans such as Kansas senator Roger Marshall, who argued that the White House's decision to center the Pride flag around two American flags proves the Biden administration's "incompetence and insistence on putting their social agenda ahead of patriotism."
While Biden on Saturday defended the flag's inclusion, saying it "sends a clear message to the country and the world" that America "is a nation of pride," the White House did not take kindly to the topless transgender activist, Rose Montoya. The White House on Tuesday banned Montoya from attending "future events," with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying the activist's behavior "was simply unacceptable."
Flag Day, formally established via presidential proclamation in 1916 and signed into law in 1949, commemorates the U.S. flag's adoption on June 14, 1777. One town in Wisconsin has held Flag Day parades since 1910, while a parade in Troy, New York attracted as many as 50,000 attendees after residents launched a celebratory rebuttal to anti-war protests during the Vietnam War era.