Gov. Greg Abbott issued an order Monday mandating flags be flown at full staff at the Texas Capitol and all state buildings on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20. The announcement comes after President Biden ordered flags be flown at half-staff at the White House and all properties under federal jurisdiction for 30 days after the death of President Jimmy Carter on Dec. 29.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, it is customary for flags to be lowered to half-staff for 30 days following the death of a president. That 30 day period would require flags to be flown at half-staff for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. However, there is no law requiring states to adhere to federal flag orders on state properties.
“As we unite our country and usher in this new era of leadership, I ordered all flags to be raised to full-staff at the Texas Capitol and all state buildings for the inauguration of President Trump,” Abbott said in a statement. “While we honor the service of a former President, we must also celebrate the service of an incoming President and the bright future ahead for the United States of America.”
Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the flag status for Inauguration Day in a post on Truth Social Jan. 3. He incorrectly claimed that his inauguration would be the first in which flags are flown 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 said on the platform. “Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it.”
Flags were at half-staff during President Nixon’s 1973 inauguration following the death of President Truman on Dec. 26. Photos of the inauguration are viewable through the Nixon Foundation.
Abbott is not the only government leader planning to raise flags Monday. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on social media Tuesday that flags at the Capitol will also fly at full-staff on Inauguration Day, despite the conflict that creates with Biden’s order.
The governors of Florida, Alabama, Iowa, Tennessee, Idaho, North Dakota and most recently California have also announced their intention to raise flags on Jan. 20, though many have indicated flags will be lowered again on the 21st to continue honoring Carter.
