Former President Jimmy Carter died on Dec. 29, 2024. Protocol and tradition dictate that U.S. flags fly at half-staff for 30 days to honor the former president.
Joe Biden issued a proclamation to that effect. The Associated Press reports that “According to the U.S. General Services Administration [GSA], the president, a governor, and the mayor of the District of Columbia can order U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff.” But there’s nothing in the proclamation that carries the force of law.
Donald Trump will be inaugurated on Jan. 20. Naturally, he does not see his inauguration as an occasion for mourning. On Jan. 3, Trump posted about the proclamation on Truth Social. “Nobody wants to see this,” he wrote, referring to the flag flying at half-staff. He added that “no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
On Wednesday, Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson took the unusual step of declaring that the flag would fly at full-staff at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20 and would be lowered back to half-staff the next day.
On January 20th, the flags at the Capitol will fly at full-staff to celebrate our…
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