{"id":2577043,"date":"2026-03-06T17:31:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T22:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brian-mast-questions-state-department-official-on-queer-maps\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T17:33:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T22:33:44","slug":"brian-mast-questions-state-department-official-on-queer-maps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brian-mast-questions-state-department-official-on-queer-maps\/","title":{"rendered":"Brian Mast questions State Department official on &#8216;queer&#8217; maps"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbrian-mast-questions-state-department-official-on-queer-maps%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2577043&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article reports on Rep. Brian Mast\u2019s questioning of a State Department official during a House Foreign Affairs Commitee hearing about the Biden administration\u2019s funding for a program described as \u201cqueer maps.\u201d Mast pressed Undersecretary of Public Diplomacy Sarah B. Rogers after she appeared to joke that the maps were being made \u201cmore gay,\u201d prompting him to label the funding embarrassing. The discussion centered on a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship awarded in 2024, totaling over $72,000 to a University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison doctoral student to study LGBT community building in Czechia and Slovakia and to create an online interactive map similar to Queering the Map. Rogers later apologized to Czechia and Slovakia and said future public diplomacy grants would be streamlined and better aligned with American interests. The article also notes Mast\u2019s criticism of other short-term diplomacy programs and funding, and also <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >related political commentary surrounding<\/a> the administration\u2019s public diplomacy efforts.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Brian Mast questions State Department official on Biden administation&rsquo;s &lsquo;queer&rsquo; maps project&nbsp;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2516068\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/brian-mast\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4975\">Brian Mast<\/a> (R-FL) pressed a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/state-department\/\">State Department<\/a> official Thursday about <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\">Biden administration <\/a>funding to &ldquo;queer&rdquo; maps during a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house-foreign-affairs-committee\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house-foreign-affairs-committee\/\">House Foreign Affairs Committee<\/a> hearing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>During the exchange, Mast questioned Undersecretary of Public Diplomacy Sarah B. Rogers about a program he referred to as &ldquo;queer maps.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4483728\/joyce-beatty-kennedy-center-closure-renovation\/\">Beatty asks court to stop Kennedy Center closure and renovation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4483287\/house-gop-leadership-push-reconciliation-2\/\">House GOP leaders begin push for reconciliation 2.0<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4482368\/house-war-powers-resolution-fails-iran-strikes-trump\/\">Centrist House Democrats bail Trump out on push to rein in war powers over Iran<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Can you tell me &mdash; what is &lsquo;queering&rsquo; the map?&rdquo; Mast asked.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So I think we were trying to make the maps more gay,&rdquo; Rogers responded, appearing to joke.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mast pushed back.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;How do you make a map more gay? Or gay at all?&rdquo; he asked.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You know, since the age of cartography, we&rsquo;ve had pretty good maps, but maybe they weren&rsquo;t gay enough,&rdquo; Rogers said. &ldquo;I do understand that the maps we were trying to make gay were, I think, of Czechia and Slovakia. So maybe those countries asked for it. I doubt it, but I don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Mast called the funding &ldquo;embarrassing.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We have to talk about the fact that things like this were funded,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepBrianMast?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RepBrianMast<\/a>: How do you make a map more gay? <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UnderSecPD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@UnderSecPD<\/a> brings reciepts exposing just what the Biden State Department wasted tax dollars on for four years. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4nQvIptIFM\">pic.twitter.com\/4nQvIptIFM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority (@HouseForeignGOP) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HouseForeignGOP\/status\/2029713864212762872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;Queering the maps&rdquo; referred to a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ed.gov\/media\/document\/fy-2024-ddra-awards-data-108214.pdf\">one-time research grant<\/a> through the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship. The grant was awarded in 2024 to a doctoral student from the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/international.wisc.edu\/meet-uw-madisons-newest-fulbright-hays-ddra-awardees\/\">University of Wisconsin-Madison.<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>According to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ed.gov\/media\/document\/fy-2024-ddra-awards-data-108214.pdf\">grant information sheet<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/googles-anti-white-image-equity-fellowship-announces-winners\/\" title=\"Google\u2019s Anti-White \u2018Image Equity Fellowship\u2019 Announces Winners\">fellowship awarded<\/a> over $72,000 for a dissertation related to LGBT community building in Czechia and Slovakia.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The funding allowed the student to travel and create an online interactive map of Czechia and Slovakia. The project would be similar to &ldquo;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/item\/lcwaN0025693\/\">Queering the Map<\/a>,&rdquo; a community-generated mapping project that geo-locates queer moments.<\/p>\n<p>Mast also criticized several other State Department diplomacy programs during the hearing. He cited a diversity, equity, and inclusion flash mob in Kyrgyzstan, diversity and inclusion programs in Luxembourg, Spain, New Zealand, Canada, and Malaysia, and a diversity roadshow in India.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Some of them are $10,000 or $20,000,&rdquo; <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=O_vioci7has\">Mast said<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4483796\/europe-tepid-response-trump-iran-war\/\">EUROPE FAVORS TEPID RESPONSE TO TRUMP&rsquo;S IRAN OPERATION. DOES IT MATTER?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Public diplomacy &ldquo;convinces countries and their people to partner with, invest in, and defend the United States,&rdquo; said Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/foreignaffairs.house.gov\/news\/press-releases\/south-and-central-asia-subcommittee-chairman-huizenga-delivers-opening-remarks-at-full-committee-hearing-on-advancing-national-security-through-public-diplomacy\">opening remarks<\/a>. &ldquo;When done wrongly, it turns people against us, undermines our values, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-jim-banks-lists-11-ways-democrats-anti-china-bill-is-a-surrender-to-the-xi-regime\/\" title=\".... Jim Banks Lists 11 Ways Democrats&#039; &#039;Anti-China&#039; Bill Is a Surrender to the Xi Regime\">wastes taxpayer dollars<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, Rogers apologized to Czechia and Slovakia in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/UnderSecPD\/status\/2029790467525943547\">statement on X<\/a>. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry that my predecessors &lsquo;queered&rsquo; your maps,&rdquo; she wrote. &ldquo;This is why future public diplomacy grants will be streamlined, accountable &mdash; and channeled toward real American interests, like free speech and sports diplomacy.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mast grills State Dept over Biden maps project<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4195,"featured_media":2577044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP26006060146763.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[75262,75059,75263,75155],"class_list":["post-2577043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-brian-mast-2","tag-lgbtq-rights-3","tag-queer-maps","tag-state-department-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP26006060146763.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2577043"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2577047,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577043\/revisions\/2577047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2577044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2577043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2577043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2577043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}