Washington– A U.S. senator said on Wednesday that she had temporarily halted nominations for the Coast Guard’s top position because commanders appeared to have done so. “Undo” the commitment To make sure of that Swastikas and nooses are considered hate symbols It is forbidden to display it.
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said Adm. Kevin Lunday’s nomination for Commander of the Coast Guard is on hold until she gets clear answers.
“It appears that Admiral Lunday may have backed away from his commitment to me to combat anti-Semitism and hate crimes and protect all Coast Guard members, and I will be suspending his nomination until the Coast Guard provides answers,” Rosen said on social media.
This situation is the latest development in the Coast Guard’s review of its policy on swastikas, nooses and other hate symbols, which has caused a stir. Comes as Anti-Semitism is on the riseincluding A Mass shooting targeting Jews Celebrating Hanukkah in Sydney Bondi Beach Which killed 15 people on Sunday.
The Coast Guard’s planned policy shakeup emerged publicly last month. She described symbols like the swastika and nooses as “potentially divisive.” The new policy stopped short of banning them, but said leaders could take steps to keep them out of public view, and that the rule did not apply to private spaces, such as family residence.
It was a shift from a years-long policy that said such symbols were “broadly defined by oppression or hate” and called its display a “potential hate incident.”
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard, said there was “absolutely no reduction” in the policy language.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that the change actually “strengthens our ability to report, investigate, and prosecute those who violate long-standing policy.”
“Symbols included in the policy include, but are not limited to, nooses, swastikas, and any symbols or flags adopted by hate-based groups to represent superiority, racial or religious bigotry, anti-Semitism, or any other form of bias,” McLaughlin said.
When the changes first emerged, Rosen and Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, who lead a bipartisan anti-Semitism task force, pressed the Coast Guard for more information. The Coast Guard then released A note in late November to clarify that “hate symbols and flags are prohibited.”
However, the Coast Guard is sticking by language describing the display of a noose or swastika as “potentially divisive” in Final policy It was published this week, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to discuss it and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Coast Guard insisted that the final policy be superseded by the Lunday Memorandum ensuring that such symbols are “prohibited,” the person said. But the final version of the new policy retains language describing these provisions as “potentially divisive.”
The Washington Post was the first to report moving forward with the new policy.