Capitol flag at half-staff because of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, not Biden | Fact check

The claim: Half-staff flag at US Capitol is related to Joe Biden

A July 23 Threads post (direct link, archive link) claims a display at the U.S. Capitol signifies President Joe Biden’s health status.

“So the actor is at deaths door or gone,” reads the post, referencing the baseless conspiracy theory that Biden has been replaced by another person. “(Why) else is the flag on capitol hill at half mast. Now President Kamala God help the world (sic)."

Other widely spreading versions of the claim pointed out the flag was lowered, and some commenters also connected it to Biden’s health.

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Our rating: False

The Capitol flag was lowered following the death of Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee on July 19. Federal law requires the flag to remain at half-staff for at least two days upon the death of a sitting member of Congress.

Flag related to Texas representative, not Biden

A Senate livestream of the Capitol showed the flag was at half-staff as of July 23, but it’s not connected to Biden.

The flag was lowered after Jackson Lee's death on July 19, the Houston Chronicle reported.

It’s a legal requirement to do so on the day a sitting member of Congress dies and the day after. However, the lowered flag is often kept in that position until the day of their funeral, according to the Congressional Institute.

Jackson Lee’s family said funeral arrangements were still pending in a July 19 statement posted to the late congresswoman’s website. Funeral plans had not been publicly announced as of July 23.

Fact check: Joe Biden dropped out of presidential race but is finishing term

Biden has remained publicly active despite a brief self-isolation period after he tested positive for COVID-19 on July 17.

He called in to Vice President Kamala Harris’ July 22 campaign launch and offered public remarks affirming his confidence in Harris as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. He was also seen boarding Air Force One to return to Washington on July 23. Earlier that day, his doctor said Biden tested negative and no longer had symptoms of the virus.

Though Biden had not yet formally addressed the nation about his decision to exit the presidential race as of July 23, he announced he would do so from the Oval Office on July 24.

USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims surrounding the president’s health, including false assertions that Biden had a medical emergency on Air Force One on July 5, that a special counsel determined he was “mentally unfit” to stand trial and that he agreed to resign if he failed a cognitive test.

USA TODAY reached out to Jackson Lee's team, House Speaker Mike Johnson's office and the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

• Sheila Jackson Lee, accessed July 23, Statement from the Family of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee 

• Chron, July 22, Will Sheila Jackson Lee’s vacant House seat remain vacant? 

• NBC News, July 22, Listen: Biden speaks over phone to campaign staff

• Congressional Institute, Oct. 25, 2013, What Happens When a Member of Congress Dies? 

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Capitol flag lowered because of congresswoman's death | Fact check