--- title: Republicans Flying U.S. Flags at Full-Staff on Inauguration description: Several Republican Governors have pledged to fly their flags at full-staff, despite President Joe Biden’s former directive. canonical: https://time.com/7207144/trump-inauguration-day-flag-half-mast-full-republicans-order/ author: Rebecca Schneid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-01-15T17:21:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-01-19T17:47:37.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Republicans Flying U.S. Flags at Full-Staff on Inauguration og:description: Several Republican Governors have pledged to fly their flags at full-staff, despite President Biden’s former directive. og:url: https://time.com/7207144/trump-inauguration-day-flag-half-mast-full-republicans-order/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d849f774fb72f7f/6998b27ae2d64b8551c5d199/GettyImages-2193541455.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Inauguration Ceremony Rehearsal Takes Place In Nation's Capital og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Republicans Flying U.S. Flags at Full-Staff on Inauguration twitter:description: Several Republican Governors have pledged to fly their flags at full-staff, despite President Biden’s former directive. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d849f774fb72f7f/6998b27ae2d64b8551c5d199/GettyImages-2193541455.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Republicans Flying U.S. Flags at Full-Staff on Inauguration Day After Trump's Complaint > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Watch: Inauguration Day - Donald Trump Sworn In as 47th U.S. President [Watch (HLS stream): Watch: Inauguration Day - Donald Trump Sworn In as 47th U.S. President](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/rgxKaifi.m3u8) (2:01:30)  _Published 2025-01-20. President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in as U.S. President for the second time, along with Vice President-elect JD Vance, by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in an Inauguration Ceremony. The ceremony is followed by an Inaugural Address from Donald Trump. Trump and Vance are replacing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris._  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Updated: Jan 19, 2026 5:47 PM UTCPublished: Jan 15, 2025 5:21 PM UTC  The American flag blows in the wind during rehearsals for the inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 12, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The American flag blows in the wind during rehearsals for the inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 12, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Kayla Bartkowski—Getty Images  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Updated: Jan 19, 2026 5:47 PM UTCPublished: Jan 15, 2025 5:21 PM UTC Despite President Joe Biden’s former directive that [U.S. flags would be flown at half-staff](https://time.com/7204711/us-flags-flown-half-staff-inauguration-day-trump-reaction/) during President-elect Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day—a continuation of mourning after the death of former President Jimmy Carter—several Republicans have pledged to fly their flags at full-staff. In honor of [Carter](https://time.com/5579674/jimmy-carter-dies/)—who died on Dec. 29, 2024, aged 100—Biden [proclaimed](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/12/29/proclamation-announcing-the-death-of-james-earl-carter-jr/) that flags at government buildings should be flown at half-staff “as an expression of public sorrow” for 30 days—a period of time that would have included Trump’s inauguration on Monday, Jan. 20. In Oklahoma, the flags have [already been raised ](https://oklahoma.gov/governor/flag-status.html)to full-staff, as Gov. Kevin Stitt only ordered the flags to remain at half-staff until Carter’s funeral on Jan. 9\. When George H.W. Bush died in 2018, the governor at the time— Gov. Mary Fallin—[directed](https://www.facebook.com/GovernorMaryFallin/photos/a.194550967237437/2850634288295745/?type=3) that all flags be flown at half-staff for 30 days. **Read More**: [_Trump Reacts to Order Issued About of U.S. Flags_](https://time.com/7204711/us-flags-flown-half-staff-inauguration-day-trump-reaction/) Several Republican Governors have made statements over the past week, ordering flags at state buildings to be flown at full-staff on Inauguration Day in their respective states, then returned to half-staff the day after. “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,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a staunch Trump ally, wrote[ in his statement](https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-orders-flags-to-full-staff-in-honor-of-inauguration-day) on Jan. 13. Alabama [Gov. Kay Ivey](https://governor.alabama.gov/newsroom/2025/01/inauguration-day-flag-order-january-20-2025/) also spoke out on that same day, announcing that she will raise the flags for the inauguration. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson followed suit on Jan. 14, ordering for flags at the United States Capitol to be raised to their full height for the inauguration, and then lowered the day after. In his [statement](https://mikejohnson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1525), Johnson said that it was "to celebrate our country coming together behind the inauguration of our 47th President, Donald Trump.” Throughout Jan. 14, other Republican governors issued similar orders, including Nebraska [Gov. Jim Pillen](https://governor.nebraska.gov/gov-pillen-directs-flags-state-buildings-fly-full-staff-inauguration-day) North Dakota [Gov. Kelly Armstrong ](https://www.governor.nd.gov/news/armstrong-directs-full-staff-jan-20-celebration-president-elect-trumps-inauguration-flags), Tennessee [Gov. Bill Lee](https://x.com/GovBillLee/status/1879244599308554701), Florida [Gov Ron DeSantis](https://www.flgov.com/eog/news/press/2025/memorandum-inauguration-day-flag-order-january-20-2025), Iowa [Gov. Kim Reynolds](https://governor.iowa.gov/press-release/2025-01-14/gov-reynolds-orders-flags-raised-state-buildings-inauguration-day), and Idaho [Gov. Brad Little](https://gov.idaho.gov/pressrelease/half-staff-flag-directive-gov-little-orders-flags-raised-for-inauguration-day/). DeSantis, who presides over Florida where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home is based, said the decision was “to honor the tradition of our founding fathers and the sacrifices made by those who have served to ensure the torch of liberty continues to burn strong.” On Jan. 15, Utah Gov. [Spencer J. Cox issued an order](https://governor.utah.gov/press/news-release-gov-cox-orders-flags-to-return-to-full-staff-for-presidential-inauguration-then-lowered-again-in-honor-of-president-carters-passing/) for "the flags of the United States of America and the great state of Utah to be flown at full-staff on all state facilities on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in observance of Inauguration Day." The flags will return to half-staff at sunset, in continuance of the tradition honoring Carter. That same day,[ South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster](https://x.com/henrymcmaster/status/1879661705728507906) ordered the flags over the State Capitol and state buildings to fly at full-staff from sunrise to sunset on Jan. 20. [Indiana Gov. Mike Braun](https://events.in.gov/event/gov-braun-directs-flags-to-be-flown-at-full-staff-in-honor-of-inauguration-day), [Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves](https://governorreeves.ms.gov/governor-reeves-directs-flags-be-flown-at-full-staff-in-recognition-of-donald-j-trumps-inauguration/), and [Alaska's Gov. Mike Dunleavy](https://gov.alaska.gov/governor-dunleavy-orders-flags-to-fly-full-staff-on-inauguration-day/) later issued similar instructions. And it’s seemingly not only Republicans who are said to be taking the position. California Governor Gavin Newsom’s spokesperson Izzy Gardon has reportedly confirmed that the Democrat would join the fold of Republican governors in raising the flags on Inauguration Day, [according to Associated Press.](https://apnews.com/article/gavin-newsom-flag-trump-inauguration-02a521a422b128b71b8e8cac4f02e3dd) This comes after Trump [complained in January about the flags on](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113765847370756395) his social media app, Truth Social, saying that Democrats were “giddy” about the flag being flown at half-staff during his inauguration. “In any event, 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,” he wrote. “Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out.”Several of the governors stated in their decisions to raise the flags during the mourning period that they are still within federal standards. Governors Lee and Ivey cited a section of the [flag code ](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title4/html/USCODE-2011-title4-chap1.htm#:~:text=%28d%29%20The%20flag%20should%20be,Day%2C%20second%20Sunday%20in%20May%3B)that describes general times and occasions for displaying the U.S. flag, including Inauguration Day, But the code does not state that the flags must be at full-staff. The exact wording is “The flag should be displayed on all days, especially on…Inauguration Day, January 20”—the day included in a list of several other federal holidays. Biden’s proclamation, though, is in accordance with a section of the flag code which states that “The flag shall be flown at half-staff 30 days from the death of the President or a former President.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7207144/trump-inauguration-day-flag-half-mast-full-republicans-order/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7207144/trump-inauguration-day-flag-half-mast-full-republicans-order/"},"headline":"The Republicans Flying U.S. Flags at Full-Staff on Inauguration Day After Trump's Complaint","datePublished":"2025-01-15T17:21:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-01-19T17:47:37.000Z","description":"Several Republican Governors have pledged to fly their flags at full-staff, despite President Joe Biden’s former directive.","url":"https://time.com/7207144/trump-inauguration-day-flag-half-mast-full-republicans-order/","keywords":["Donald Trump","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d849f774fb72f7f/6998b27ae2d64b8551c5d199/GettyImages-2193541455.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca Schneid","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d849f774fb72f7f/6998b27ae2d64b8551c5d199/GettyImages-2193541455.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Inauguration Ceremony Rehearsal Takes Place In Nation's Capital","caption":"Inauguration Ceremony Rehearsal Takes Place In Nation's Capital","creditText":"Kayla Bartkowski—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7207144/trump-inauguration-day-flag-half-mast-full-republicans-order/","name":"The Republicans Flying U.S. Flags at Full-Staff on Inauguration Day After Trump's Complaint"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch: Inauguration Day - Donald Trump Sworn In as 47th U.S. President","description":"President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in as U.S. President for the second time, along with Vice President-elect JD Vance, by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in an Inauguration Ceremony. 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