Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Defies Biden's Inauguration Flag Order with an Order of His Own
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that he has directed for the U.S. flag to be flown at full-staff on state properties for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week.
Following the death of former President Jimmy Carter on Dec. 29, President Joe Biden ordered that the American flag be flown at half-staff, which is consistent with federal law that establishes a 30-day mourning period following the death of a former or sitting president, CBS News reported.
But Abbott said in a statement released Monday that he ordered “all flags to be raised to full-staff at the Texas Capitol and all state buildings on January 20, 2025, in honor of Inauguration Day.”
The governor also cited a federal statute, which reads in part, “The flag should be displayed on all days, especially on … Inauguration Day, January 20.”
“Texas continues to mourn with our fellow Americans across the country over the passing of former President Jimmy Carter. President Carter’s steadfast leadership left a lasting legacy that will be felt for generations to come, which together as a nation we honor by displaying flags at half-staff for 30 days,” Abbott explained.
“On January 20, our great nation will celebrate our democratic tradition of transferring power to a new President by inaugurating the 47th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. 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,” he said.
Inauguration Day is a day of celebration for America.
Today, I ordered flags raised to full-staff at the Texas Capitol & state buildings for President Trump’s inauguration.
While we honor President Carter’s service, we also celebrate an incoming President & our bright future. pic.twitter.com/eEqsVMKUCl
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 13, 2025
Presumably, the U.S. flags in Texas will then be returned to half-staff on Jan. 21 until the period of mourning for Carter is completed later in January.
The order from Abbott came after Trump voiced frustration with the idea of the flag flying at half-staff during his inauguration and return to the presidency.
“The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration. They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don’t love our Country, they only think about themselves,” he wrote in a Truth Social post on Jan. 3.
Trump questioned whether it would be the first time in U.S. history that the flag would fly at half-staff during an inauguration.
The Democrats are all “giddy” about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at “half mast” during my Inauguration. They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don’t love our Country, they only think about themselves. Look at what…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 3, 2025
The Associated Press reported that the American flag was flying at full-staff on Monday at Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida.
JUST IN: Trump is flying the USA flag at full-staff despite Biden ordering them at half-staff through the end of January – AP pic.twitter.com/23CqS6kSZS
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 13, 2025
CBS News noted that Biden’s order for the flags to fly at half-staff for 30 days covers all flags across the country, but there is no mechanism to enforce the law and no penalty for failure to comply.
Federal properties, however, must follow the president’s directive.
A funeral service for Carter was held on Thursday at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., which Trump and all of the remaining living former presidents attended.
Biden had declared that day, Jan. 9, a National Day of Mourning for Carter.
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