OAN Staff Abril Elfi
11:16 AM – Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Washington state lawmakers have introduced a new bill in an effort to remove the first president of the United States, George Washington, from the state flag.
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Democrat lawmakers are reportedly working to pass the bill in the hopes of “designing a new state flag” that “better reflects the diversity and values of all Washingtonians.”
The lawmakers recently introduced House Bill 1938, which aims to create a committee that would take on the job of designing a new flag for the “Evergreen State.”
They argued that the current Washington flag “often faces criticism for its poor design and lack of relevance to the state’s identity.”
“The flag features a detailed portrait of George Washington, making it overly complex and difficult to reproduce which is a violation of key flag design principles that prioritize simplicity. Additionally, while George Washington is an important national figure, he has limited historical connection to the state itself. This makes his image less meaningful as a symbol for the state,” the bill states.
The Democrat officials claimed that the flag is also aesthetically-unpleasant since it “uses too many colors” and its design is “outdated and uninspired.”
If the new bill passes, the new committee would design a new flag that reflects Washington’s “shared history, resources and diverse cultural communities,” they maintained.
The committee would be made up of Washington State Arts Commission representatives, legislators from the House and Senate, the secretary of state, historians, designers, cultural leaders, tribal representatives, and citizen representatives from various regions of the state — all appointed by the governor.
Later, the committee would collect public comment from schools, community organizations, tribes, public forums, virtual talks, and online surveys before accepting the new design on July 1st, 2028.
Additionally, voters would have to approve the new design in the next general election before it could be considered the official new “updated” state flag.
A public hearing in Olympia, Washington, before the House Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations is set for February 18th.
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