House GOP speaker orders Capitol flags to fly at full-staff at Trump's inauguration
WASHINGTON ? At the request of President-elect Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson is suspending a 30-day mourning period for former President Jimmy Carter to allow flags at the U.S. Capitol to fly at full staff at Trump's inauguration next week.
Johnson announced the move in a statement Tuesday less than a week before Trump is sworn in as the 47th president outside the Capitol on Monday.
"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 in a statement. "The flags will be lowered back to half-staff the following day to continue honoring President Jimmy Carter.”
More: Donald Trump fumes over flag flying at half-staff to honor Jimmy Carter during inauguration
U.S. flags have been flying at half-staff at all federal properties including the Capitol since Dec. 29, when Carter died and President Joe Biden ordered the measure of respect for 30 days ? the prescribed federal time frame for lowering flags after a president's death since 1954.
Trump, who attended Carter's funeral in Washington last week, has objected that the flag ritual will coincide with his inauguration.
In a social media post this month, Trump accused Democrats of being "giddy" that the flags would be at half-staff during his inauguration. "Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out," Trump said in his post Jan. 3 on Truth Social.
The White House has said Biden won't reconsider the flag order, which Johnson will effectively be disregarding at the Capitol during the inauguration ceremony.
At Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence and private club in South Florida, American flags were spotted on Tuesday flying at half-staff again, one day after The Associated Press reported spotting one raised to its full height.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Flags to fly at full-staff at Capitol for Trump's inauguration