House Speaker Mike Johnson has ordered that flags at the U.S. Capitol be raised to their full height on Jan. 20 for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, rejecting a proclamation from President Joe Biden last month that flags across the nation be flown at half-staff for 30 days in honor of the late former President Jimmy Carter, who died on Dec. 29, 2024.
"On January 20th, the flags at the Capitol will fly at full-staff to celebrate our country coming together behind the inauguration of our 47th President, Donald Trump," Johnson said Tuesday in a statement. "The flags will be lowered back to half-staff the following day to continue honoring President Jimmy Carter."
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President Biden's order that flags be flown at half-staff impacted flags at all federal government buildings and U.S. embassies abroad. The order is slated to run through Jan. 28 but will now be suspended at the Capitol on Inauguration Day — a move that surely appeases the incoming president.
Trump has previously expressed displeasure over the idea that he would take his second oath of office with flags at half-staff.
"Because of the death of President Jimmy Carter, the Flag may, for the first time ever during an Inauguration of a future President, be at half-mast," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform earlier this month. "Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let's see how it plays out."
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The order from Speaker Johnson mirrors actions taken by other Republican leaders. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have each also ordered that flags in their states be flown at their full height on Inauguration Day.
