Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin didn’t seem particularly impressed with the predictably — and theatrically — outraged questioning from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) during a House hearing on Wednesday.
Gaetz was evidently upset about the Defense Department having not taken more proactive steps to bring former members of the U.S. armed services back into the metaphorical fold after dismissals apparently connected to mandates to receive vaccines against COVID-19, accusing Austin of his “pride” being at issue behind the lack of outreach. In another unsurprising turn, Gaetz also questioned Austin about drag shows hosted at U.S. military installations, seemingly taking it as fact that U.S. government funds were used for the gatherings. In a Twitter post, Kevin Baron, a journalist covering defense issues, said that Gaetz “seems unaware people can do things on military bases that aren’t government funded or policy. Like… Christmas parties.”
“How much taxpayer money should go to fund drag queen story hours on military bases?” Gaetz said. “Drag queen story hours is not something that the department funds,” Austin replied. The Congressman was unconvinced and whined in response that he supposedly had the truth, but Austin was persistent. Asked about the funding, Austin repeated his reply: “Drag shows are not something that the Department of Defense supports or funds.” Asked about what then was the origin for specific events, both held and cancelled, that the Congressman cited, Austin added: “I will say again. This is not something that we support or fund.” Austin ended up repeating the crux of his sentiment at least twice more, which Gaetz alleged “doesn’t comport with the facts.” Even amid unresolved questions about funding, Gaetz seemed insistent that the mere presence of a drag event at a military installation meant support from the Defense Department.
Predictably, Gaetz’s nonsense quickly drew support from across right-wing echo chambers online, the kind of show of camaraderie that it seems Republican rants at hearings in Congress are often focused around. In the same round of questioning, Gaetz also questioned Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, a general in the Army, about a Twitter post by someone from the Department of Defense, which Milley does not control. Check out the scene below:
