A group of House Republicans is urging Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to “end drag shows and any ‘drag queen influencers’ performing in our military.”
The call to action comes after a “drag queen influencer” was reportedly approached by the Navy to help increase recruitment numbers, reports Fox News.
In a letter led by Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., and signed by seven of his House GOP colleagues, the lawmakers expressed their concerns about the use of drag queens in military recruitment.
The military has a huge recruiting/retention crisis because they went woke. How did they try to fix it? By going more woke. Meet Joshua Kelley. Drag name Harpy Daniels. U.S. Navy named him Digital Ambassador to recruit new demos to join the Navy. Insane. pic.twitter.com/2DWOAIgWr4
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) May 2, 2023
The Navy’s decision to approach a drag queen as part of its recruitment efforts was called “outrageous” and “a disgrace to those who have previously served” by Alford.
The lawmakers wrote in the letter that they were “extremely concerned” about the reports and that “woke ideologies and drag queen shows have no place in our military.”
Meet Drag Queen Harpy Daniels, the new face of the U.S. Navy. They picked the non-binary Daniels to help recruit cadets. So now Harpy is the Navy’s new Dylan. Dylan killed Bud Light Sales… what do you think’s going to happen to Navy recruitment?
Former Lieutenant Colonel… pic.twitter.com/UIELMXYbQt
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) May 4, 2023
They also questioned the decision to appoint Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley as the Navy’s digital ambassador and requested information about how drag shows improve recruitment and readiness.
The recruitment crisis facing the military is no secret, with recent estimates showing that only 9% of America’s youth are interested in military service. This has forced the Army to miss its recruitment goals for last year by 15,000 soldiers or 25%.
The Republicans argue that “drag shows which do nothing to enhance our deterrence and warfighting capabilities” will only serve to hurt recruitment efforts.
Kelley, who performs under the name “Harpy Daniels” and has over 1.3 million likes on TikTok, was part of the Navy’s Digital Ambassador initiative, which ran from October 2022 to March 2023.
U.S. Navy are now using Drag Queen Joshua Kelley (AKA Harpy Daniels) to attract new enlistment.
This must strike fear in our enemies. pic.twitter.com/pH3n8pUyOw— C Young (@cathyyoung421) May 3, 2023
The initiative was designed to explore the digital environment to reach a wide range of potential candidates, according to a Navy spokesperson. However, Kelley and others were not compensated for their roles as Navy Digital Ambassadors.
In response to the letter, a Pentagon spokesperson said that Austin will respond to the lawmakers “in due course.”
The Navy declined to comment on the matter. The use of drag queens in military recruitment is a controversial topic, with some arguing that it promotes diversity and inclusion, while others see it as inappropriate and unnecessary.
The Navy’s attempts to increase interest among young people come at a time when recruitment numbers are at an all-time low.
A survey from the Ronald Reagan Institute found that only 13% of 18- to 29-year-olds are “highly willing” to join the military, while 25% are “somewhat willing” and 26% are “not willing at all.”
The Navy is evaluating the Digital Ambassador program to determine how it will operate in the future.
