The Oregon House of Representatives kicked off a new legislative session this week not with a pledge, prayer, or moment of silence, but with a nearly five-minute drag queen performance right on the floor.
In what many are calling an “ostentatious display of political activism,” two Portland-based drag performers, Isaiah Esquire and Aqua Flora, were invited by Democrat Rep. Travis Nelson to perform in full gold costumes.
The performance, which featured lip-syncs to Aretha Franklin’s “A Deeper Love” and Beyoncé’s “I Was Here,” was supposedly in celebration of Pride Month.
The show ended with a standing ovation from much of the Democrat caucus.
Others, meanwhile, looked on in visible discomfort.
The dancers pranced across the floor of the legislative chamber, with no legislation yet introduced for the day.
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Nelson, who is Oregon’s first openly LGBTQ+ black legislator, framed the performance as a celebration of “joy, resilience, and cultural impact.”
He also introduced the very first measure of the session: A resolution honoring “Oregon’s rich history of black drag.”
The resolution passed 34–9, though many Republicans did not vote or abstained in protest.
Not everyone was applauding.
“Turning the House Floor into a smokey bar is beneath