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By Sean O'Driscoll
Senior Crime and Courts Reporter
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House Speaker Mike Johnson has ordered flags to fly full-staff at the United States Capitol for Donald Trump's inauguration. Under U.S. law, they are supposed to be flying at half-staff after the death of former President Jimmy Carter.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's inauguration team and Johnson's office via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Trump will be inaugurated at the U.S. Capitol's west lawn on January 20 and wants the flags flying full-staff. He has made it a partisan issue in recent weeks despite the order being part of the U.S. Flag Code.
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"The Democrats are all 'giddy' about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at 'half mast' during my Inauguration," the president-elect wrote in a January 3 post on Truth Social.
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What To Know
Former President Jimmy Carter died on December 29 at the age of 100. The U.S. Flag Code, part of a federal statute, mandates that all U.S. flags fly at half-staff for 30 days after a president or former president dies.
This was reinforced by an executive order from President Joe Biden, setting out the 30 day flag lowering period, ending on January 28.
After Trump expressed his willingness to defy the order, some Republican governors announced flags in their state buildings would fly at full-staff on Inauguration Day. This includes North Dakota's Kelly Armstrong, Florida's Ron DeSantis and Iowa's Kim Reynolds.
Johnson announced in a January 14 post on X, formerly Twitter, that American flags at the Capitol will fly full-staff for Trump's inauguration. Under federal law, the House speaker is in charge of lowering flags on the Capitol.
The U.S. Flag Code states that the American flag "shall be flown at half-staff on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories" for 30 days after the death of a president.
Cary Coglianese, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told McClatchy News that the code clearly states that the flag should be at half-staff during inaugurations.
However, he said that the law is not binding and disobeying it is not necessarily illegal.
"This law is what we can call a coordinating statute, as it is trying to create common standards, coordinating the display of the flag (a unifying symbol) among a citizenry that shares common values, rather than imposing regulatory obligations aimed at trying to force people to behave in a manner that they would otherwise not have an incentive to behave," Coglianese said.
He said the U.S. Flag Code is not enforceable by law and there are no penalties for ignoring it.
What People Are Saying
President-Elect Donald Trump said on Truth Social that there is general agreement that flags should not be at half-staff on his Inauguration Day.
""Nobody wants to see this," he wrote. "American can be happy about it. Let's see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
What Happens Next
Unless Biden finds a way to compel compliance, Trump will be inaugurated at the Capitol with full-staff flags.
Even if Johnson backs down, a president can adjust the flags by executive order. That means that Trump could have the Capitol flags raised to full-staff as soon as he is inaugurated.
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