Pentagon cancels Air Force Base drag show due to Republican pressure.

Pentagon Cancels Drag Show After Republican Pressure

The Pentagon canceled a drag show scheduled to take place at an Air Force base in Nevada after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) flagged the event. The show, which was billed as “family-friendly” and had no minimum age requirement, was scheduled to take place on June 1 at Nellis Air Force Base.

The Pentagon had previously denied that any taxpayer funds were used to organize such events, but in a May letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, Gaetz identified six drag shows, including the June 1 event, held or scheduled to be held at military installations. Six days after Gaetz sent the letter, the Pentagon canceled the drag show at the Nevada Air Force base.

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In March, Gaetz questioned Austin about the Department of Defense funding drag queen story hours during a House Armed Services Committee hearing. Austin denied that department funds were being used to put on such events. In his May letter contradicting Austin’s statement, Gaetz questioned why these six scheduled events had been approved given Austin’s testimony stating that the DOD did not fund drag shows.

“Hosting these types of events in federally funded facilities is not a suitable use of DOD resources,” deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said Wednesday. “Our Service members are diverse and are allowed to have personal outlets.”