Matt Gaetz personally confronts Gen. Milley with evidence of drag queen events on military bases after Milley said he was 'unaware' of them

During a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rejected claims from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) that "Drag Queen Story Hours" were occurring on United States military installations across the country.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley responded to the claims by Gaetz by saying he was "unaware" of any such events, according to Gaetz's office, but committed to ending the events on military property if the claims were true.

Afterwards, Gaetz was photographed handing a folder to the general, containing a series of articles he referenced during the hearing about drag queen events on military bases.

"'Joint Base Langley-Eustis holds drag show at kid-friendly festival.' And the next is 'U.S. military defends drag show at largest training center as quote, 'essential to morale,'" Gaetz told General Milley at the hearing.

"Next is 'Nellis Air Force Base hosts first-ever drag queen show: 'Essential to morale and readiness.'' That's a Breitbart piece. And finally, 'Ramstein cancels library's drag queen story time for Pride Month following criticism,'" the congressman continued.

"Can I get copies of those? Because I'd like to take a look at those myself, actually take a look and find out what actually is going on there," the general replied.

"That's the first I'm hearing about that kind of stuff. I don't read those news stories. I don't know what you're talking about. I'd like to take a look at those because I don't agree with those," Milley added.

Rep. Gaetz was referring to a series of press clippings, including a June 2021 story from Breitbart regarding Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, which hosted "its first-ever drag queen show at one of its on-base dining and entertainment clubs."

Gaetz also referenced a July 2021 story by the Western Journal that details Montana's Malmstrom Air Force base hosting a drag event at a "club and community center at the base."

A Military.com story from May 2022 was also cited, describing an event at "Ramstein Air Base in Germany in which a drag queen was scheduled to read a book to children at the library," but was canceled "after criticism from some service members."

Gaetz's office also linked to stories about drag queen events at Elgin Air Force Base near Valparaiso, Florida, in June 2022 and Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia in July 2022.

Rep. Gaetz's office has not yet replied to a request for comment.

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