Sarah Rogers, the current Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, claimed that the Joe Biden administration factored in DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and how “gay” certain international regions were when providing government aid.
While testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in a hearing titled “Advancing National Security Through Public Diplomacy” last Wednesday, Rogers discussed international aid provided to several European countries, specifically Czechia and Slovakia. Florida Rep. Brian Mast questioned what was “queering” the maps in question.
“So I think we were trying to make the maps more gay,” Rogers said.
Mast then questioned how it is possible to make a map “more gay” or anything associated with the LGBTQ community. Rogers, who officially took over her role last October, replied that previous maps “may not have been gay enough.”
.@RepBrianMast: How do you make a map more gay? @UnderSecPD brings reciepts exposing just what the Biden State Department wasted tax dollars on for four years. pic.twitter.com/4nQvIptIFM
— House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority (@HouseForeignGOP) March 6, 2026
Rogers added that she took a critical race course in college — she obtained her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Dartmouth and her Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School — and noted that “queering” could be used as a verb.
“Since the age of cartography, we’ve had pretty good maps, but maybe they weren’t gay enough,” Rogers said.
Mast said the grants included DEI programs in countries such as Spain and Canada, as well as training trans and intersex leaders in India. Although the session took place last Wednesday, footage of the discussion began circulating on Monday following a Fox News story.
“We would absolutely love to know the individuals specifically who were busy writing these grants,” Mast said, “because they have no business receiving another paycheck from the people of the United States of America.”
As of Tuesday morning, no prominent figures from the Biden administration are believed to have responded to Mast’s comments.
Following the hearing, Rogers later addressed the situation on X, praising Czechia and Slovakia while also calling out the Biden administration.
Czechia and Slovakia are great countries. I’m sorry that my predecessors “queered” your maps! This is why future public diplomacy grants will be streamlined, accountable — and channeled toward real American interests, like free speech and sports diplomacy. https://t.co/6ZWJeyWqvi
— Under Secretary of State Sarah B. Rogers (@UnderSecPD) March 6, 2026
“I’m sorry that my predecessors ‘queered’ your maps!” Rogers wrote. “This is why future public diplomacy grants will be streamlined, accountable — and channeled toward real American interests, like free speech and sports diplomacy.”
Although activists have spent years demanding diversity, equity, and inclusion, the movement took off amid the social justice protests in 2020. High-profile companies, as well as sports leagues, claimed that they needed to investigate and potentially change their corporate culture to address possible systemic racism.
Some companies, including Target, have since dialed back their policies and changed their approach. However, Apple, Coca-Cola, Costco, and Disney are among the major companies that have reiterated their commitment to DEI.
However, DEI remains a controversial topic in the United States. America First Legal (AFL) announced a federal class-action lawsuit against the Philadelphia Police Department earlier this year, alleging that five white male officers were denied promotions because of their race. Netizens also accused the Los Angeles Unified School District of using DEI practices, specifically Equitable Grading and Instruction, to determine how students are graded.
