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What happens during a presidential funeral and a look back at past funerals
(Original Caption) Billy Graham delivers the sermon at the graveside services for former President Lyndon B. Johnson at the family cemetery on the LBJ Ranch.
ATLANTA – A presidential funeral in the United States is a carefully orchestrated event, blending solemn traditions and heartfelt tributes. It spans several days and includes multiple stages, giving the nation time to mourn and honor its former leader. Here’s an easy-to-follow breakdown of what happens during these historic occasions:
1. The Initial Announcement
When a former president passes away, the sitting president issues an official proclamation to announce their death. Flags are lowered to half-staff across the country for 30 days as a sign of national mourning. The Department of Defense is tasked with organizing a state funeral to honor the late president’s service.
2. Local Ceremonies
Before heading to Washington, D.C., there are usually private ceremonies in the president’s home state or city.
- Private Service: Close family and friends gather for a quiet memorial.
- Lying in Repose: The president’s body is placed at a significant location, such as a presidential library, where local residents can pay their respects.
3. Washington, D.C. Ceremonies
The capital plays a major role in the state funeral. Here’s what happens:
- Arrival in Washington: The president’s remains are flown to D.C., often on a special aircraft designated for this purpose.
- Procession Through the City: The casket is transported with military honors, often by a horse-drawn caisson. This symbolic journey reflects the nation’s respect.
- Lying in State: The casket is placed in the Capitol Rotunda, where the public can pay their respects. A special platform called the Lincoln Catafalque, first used for Abraham Lincoln, supports the casket.
- State Funeral Service: A formal ceremony is held, usually at the Washington National Cathedral, featuring eulogies from notable figures like current and former presidents, hymns, and prayers.
4. The Final Goodbye and Burial
After the ceremonies in Washington, the president’s remains are returned to their chosen burial site, often their hometown or a location of personal significance.
- Private Funeral: A smaller, more intimate service is held for family and close friends.
- Interment: The president is laid to rest, often with military honors such as a 21-gun salute or a flyover.
Ceremonial Highlights
Throughout the process, several traditions make these funerals uniquely presidential:
- Military Honors: Elite honor guards and military bands participate, reflecting the president’s role as commander-in-chief.
- 21-Gun Salute: This traditional military tribute honors the late president’s service.
- Eulogies: Delivered by prominent leaders, these heartfelt tributes celebrate the president’s life and legacy.
A Time for National Mourning
The entire process, from the initial announcement to the burial, typically lasts 7 to 10 days. It allows Americans to grieve collectively, remember the president’s contributions, and reflect on their impact on the nation.
RELATED: PHOTOS: Ceremonies begin for former President Jimmy Carter | 1924-2024
A Look at the Last 8 Presidents
Joint services military honor guards carry the casket of former U.S. President George H.W. Bush to a Union Pacific train in Spring, Texas, U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. Bush, the longest-living president in U.S. history at age 94, died at his home
George H.W. Bush (41st President)
- Died: Nov. 30, 2018
- Funeral: A state funeral spanned several days in Texas and Washington, D.C. Bush lay in state at the U.S. Capitol before a service at the National Cathedral. Attendees included President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, former presidents, first ladies, and foreign dignitaries.
- Highlights: His remains were transported via a train painted in an Air Force One color scheme, reflecting his love of trains.
- Burial Site: George H.W. Bush Presidential Library, College Station, Texas, alongside his wife, Barbara, and daughter Robin.
- Estimated Cost: $500,000–$2 million
washington, UNITED STATES: Betty Ford pauses at the flag draped casket of her husband and former US president Gerald R. Ford, as he lies in state in the Rotunda of the US Capitol Building in Washington DC, 01 January 2007. Ford died in California on
Gerald Ford (38th President)
- Died: Dec. 26, 2006
- Funeral: Ceremonies took place in California, Washington, D.C., and Michigan. Services included a memorial at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, lying in state at the Capitol, and a funeral at the National Cathedral.
- Highlights: Ford’s body lay in repose at his presidential museum in Michigan, where 67,000 people paid their respects.
- Burial Site: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Grand Rapids, Michigan, alongside his wife, Betty Ford.
- Estimated Cost: $7 million
TOPSHOT – Former US First Lady Nancy Reagan (C), escorted by Maj. Gen. Galen B. Jackman, watches 09 June, 2004, as the guard honor carries the casket bearing the remains of her husband former US president Ronald Reagan to the presidential airplane fo
Ronald Reagan (40th President)
- Died: June 5, 2004
- Funeral: A week-long state funeral included services in California, Washington, D.C., and a private burial at the Reagan Library. Reagan lay in repose for two days at the library and later in state at the Capitol, where 100,000 mourners visited.
- Highlights: A sunset burial service marked the return of large-scale presidential state funerals.
- Burial Site: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, California.
- Estimated Cost: $400 million (including extensive security costs).
Flowers for Richard Nixon’s Funeral (Photo by �� Steve Starr/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
Richard Nixon (37th President)
- Died: April 22, 1994
- Funeral: A private service held at the Nixon Presidential Library in California, attended by world leaders and five living presidents.
- Highlights: Nixon lay in repose at the library, where 50,000 people waited up to 18 hours to pay their respects.
- Burial Site: Nixon Library, Yorba Linda, California, alongside his wife, Pat.
- Estimated Cost: Approximately $200,000
Honor guard bearing former Pres. Richard Nixon’s flag-draped coffin during funeral service (Rev. Billy Graham at far L). (Photo by Diana Walker/Getty Images)
Lyndon B. Johnson (36th President)
- Died: Jan. 22, 1973
- Funeral: Services included ceremonies in Washington, D.C., and Texas. Johnson lay in state at the Capitol and was later buried with military honors on his ranch.
- Highlights: A Texas National Guard Unit fired a 21-gun salute during his burial.
- Burial Site: Johnson Family Cemetery, Stonewall, Texas, alongside Lady Bird Johnson.
- Estimated Cost: Likely under $500,000
John F. Kennedy (35th President)
- Died: Nov. 22, 1963
- Funeral: A three-day event following his assassination. Kennedy lay in repose at the White House, then in state at the Capitol, before a funeral Mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral.
- Highlights: Jacqueline Kennedy lit the eternal flame at his Arlington gravesite. The funeral was the first to be televised.
- Burial Site: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.
- Estimated Cost: Roughly $4 million (adjusted for inflation).
Funeral of Harry Truman, miscellaneous views of casket as it lies in state of Truman Library. (Photo by UPI Color/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
Harry S. Truman (33rd President)
- Died: Dec. 26, 1972
- Funeral: Truman requested a modest funeral. Services included a private memorial at the Truman Library and a public memorial at the National Cathedral.
- Highlights: His body passed by the Truman home, where Bess Truman watched from a window.
- Burial Site: Truman Library, Independence, Missouri, alongside his wife, Bess.
- Estimated Cost: Likely under $100,000
The late President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is laid to rest in the rose garden of his Hyde Park estate. Mourners and military officers gather to pay their last respects. | Location: Hyde Park, New York, USA.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd President)
- Died: April 12, 1945
- Funeral: Services were held at the White House and St. John’s Episcopal Church before his burial at Hyde Park.
- Highlights: Thousands lined the train route from Warm Springs, Georgia, to New York. The ceremonies were scaled down due to WWII.
- Burial Site: Springwood Estate, Hyde Park, New York, alongside Eleanor Roosevelt.
- Estimated Cost: Unknown
Costs for Future Presidential Funerals
Modern presidential funerals have become increasingly expensive due to heightened security and larger public ceremonies. Estimated costs for future funerals could reach $8–10 million or more.
Presidents Still Living
- Joe Biden (46th President)
- Donald Trump (45th President)
- Barack Obama (44th President)
- George W. Bush (43rd President)
- Bill Clinton (42nd President)
News
As Supreme Court expands Trump’s immigration power, experts warn of steeper U.S. population decline
President Trump holds up a bill funding immigration enforcement after signing it in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Washington.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
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Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Even before the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that President Trump has broad power to deport hundreds of thousands of migrants living legally in the U.S. under temporary protected status, David Bier feared the U.S. was slipping toward a demographic cliff.
“We’re destined to be there, in short order, there’s no question,” Bier said. “We’re already seeing a situation where most counties in the United States had more deaths than births.”
An expert on population and immigration at the libertarian Cato Institute, Bier believes the U.S. is beginning to look more like China, Italy and South Korea — nations that face rapid aging and population decline are seen as a crisis.
U.S. birthrates have been declining for decades. There are far too few children born each year to maintain a stable population.
Until last year, high rates of foreign immigration largely offset that trend. But for the first time since the 1930s, during the Great Depression, the U.S. now faces record low birthrates and low numbers of migrants at the same time.
“Our higher birthrates of a century ago are not coming back. There’s no way to have a sustainable fiscal and economic situation that doesn’t involve immigration,” Bier said.
Trump’s legal fight to end temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, Syrians and others living in the U.S. legally is only one part of a wider administration effort to squeeze immigration.
The Supreme Court also ruled this week that the administration has authority to block most asylum seekers from entering the country. Federal agents have also conducted raids in cities across the U.S., to accelerate deportations.
Last month, Trump issued an executive order that could make it harder for many migrants living in the U.S. without full legal status to use banking and financial services.
Many immigration opponents see these changes as progress. In a statement following this week’s Supreme Court decisions. A spokesman for the Federation for Immigration Reform said Trump should have full authority to direct who enters the U.S.
“Our immigration laws are written to be pro-enforcement, not anti-enforcement,” said FAIR’s Christopher Hajec.
But according to Cato’s Bier, Trump’s policies are already reshaping the demographics of communities, meaning there are fewer workers, consumers, taxpayers, and children in schools.
“If you’re not allowing immigration, you’re going to have [an aging and] a declining population and that creates all kinds of problems,” Bier said.
Economists say that without migrants, the number of young workers paying into Social Security will fall more rapidly; schools in many areas will close; and the number of young families having children will decline.
Census data already shows big changes to U.S. population
The immigration decline under Trump is dramatic. In 2024, roughly 2.7 million foreign migrants entered the U.S., according to the Census Bureau. This year, census experts predict that number could drop as low as 300,000. Some demographers believe the U.S. may be reaching a point where more migrants are leaving than entering.
Impacts of this massive shift on America’s wider population are already emerging. Studies by the Census Bureau, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Federal Reserve all point to a more rapidly aging national population under Trump.
Population growth in the U.S. fell by half in 2025 from the previous year, with five states losing population. Census data shows the total number of young Americans, those under age 25, is already falling nationwide.
William Frey, a demographer at the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution, described last week’s Supreme Court rulings as “alarming.” He believes without robust foreign immigration, more states will quickly see their populations stagnate or decline.
“Not just in big immigration states, but in places that have relatively small numbers of immigrants, you know, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska — those states require immigrants to get any population growth,” Frey said.
Even before Trump’s policies curbed immigration, the U.S. population was expected to decline later this century. Experts say low immigration rates will cause that downward trend to happen much sooner.
According to Frey, the U.S. has time to reverse course. But he believes the Trump administration is committed to lowering both legal and illegal immigration over the long term, a policy he described as dangerous.
“This is as clear as the nose on your face,” he said. “You’ve got to have this growth in the younger population if you’re going to survive. Immigration is a key part of that going forward.”
“America’s doors are closed”
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy, speaks with reports at the White House, Thursday, June 25, 2026, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
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Jacquelyn Martin/AP
The Trump administration sees this very differently, describing foreign migrants not as people who sustain state populations and economies, but as a social burden and a threat.
“America’s doors are closed fully to asylum seekers,” Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s top White House policy advisors, said on Thursday.
Speaking with reporters, Miller described the Supreme Court rulings as a victory and said ending birthright citizenship for the children of migrants born in the U.S. is the next step.
“This country doesn’t have a future if we don’t end birthright citizenship,” Miller said. Justices are expected to rule on birthright citizenship as early as next week.
This kind of opposition to both legal and illegal immigration is now widespread among conservatives, said Cato’s David Bier, who worked as a Republican congressional staffer on immigration policy.
He told NPR that when he talks to conservatives about the economic and demographic risks of closing the country’s doors to migrants, many answer with a cultural argument. “[They] would rather have a declining population of ‘true Americans’ than have an economy kept afloat by people who don’t share [their] values,” Bier said.
But if extremely low or zero-level immigration does become the new normal for the U.S., experts say it would swiftly remake the fabric of the country. The Census Bureau estimates that without robust migration in the coming years, total population loss by the end of this century could exceed 107 million people.
UTAH COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — Utah County has declared a state of emergency.
According to an announcement from the Utah County Commissioner Skyler Beltran, the county is in a dire position due to the extensive wildfires in the area and high fire risk.
The announcement states that declaring the State of Emergency will allow the county to access additional resources, and notes there is no imminent threat to Utah County residents.
“We have utilized a tremendous amount of our resources (very early in the traditional fire season schedule) responding to the Iron Fire and continue to face ongoing recovery concerns,” the statement read. “This was even before the Maple Peak and Cherry fires, which have now merged and are moving toward the Iron Fire.”
The Iron Fire, which started last week, has burned over 40,000 acres. Around 22,830 of those acres were in Utah County. Reportedly, the county has limited resources available to help those who are evacuating from Juab County, including the 600 residents in the Town of Eureka.
Due to the influx in evacuees, the Utah County Commission says that more resources are necessary to help the evacuation shelters in Elberta, Utah. Additionally, due to the Iron Fire and other wildfires, Utah County is facing immense repair needs to avoid future flooding, loss of homes, and disruption to local economies and ecosystems.
There is “imminent threat” to public safety due to the damage.
The commission also asks the public to be vigilant when handling heavy equipment, using campfires or barbecues, and discharging fireworks, to avoid preventing fires.
Their statement added, “Our firefighters are exhausted, our resources are stretched thin and we are in a very vulnerable position.”
News
A day after Alito’s testy response to Sotomayor’s dissent, court says it was a ‘misunderstanding’
The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor (seated left) and Justice Samuel Alito (seated second from right).
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As the Supreme Court heads into the announcement of its final and hugely important opinions next week, there are reverberations from this week’s announcements, and Justice Samuel Alito’s public rebuke of his colleague Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
On Thursday, Justice Alito summarized from the bench three very big opinions he authored for the court’s six justice conservative majority. Alito, unlike most of his colleagues, doesn’t spend much time on these summaries. And it is rare that a justice has three big opinions to announce, but it is almost the end of the term, and there are a lot of big cases still outstanding.
The first case he announced came and went. Alito then moved on to a second case, this one tests whether migrants may apply for asylum in the U.S. by going to one of several ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexican border, and presenting themselves for admission. This entails presenting documents that persuade an asylum officer that applicants’ fear of persecution in their home country is credible enough to allow them to enter the U.S. while their asylum application is processed. Alito’s opinion ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s policy of refusing all such applicants by blocking them at the border. It was a policy also followed at one time by the Obama administration until it was blocked by the lower courts.
After Alito finished his summary of the opinion, he paused, at which point Justice Sotomayor read a summary of her contrary views in dissent. When she finished, however, Justice Alito did not move on to the announcement of his third opinion. Instead, he did something that nobody in the press corps ever remembers happening before. Looking much as if he had just bitten into a lemon, Alito said, “There is much that I would have added to my bench statement had I known there would be a dissent read.” And he then went on to a short extemporaneous rebuttal.
What caused the hissy fit? Did Sotomayor really fail to tell him she would have an oral dissent? That really would have been a breach of the court’s practices. A justice typically notifies the chief justice and the author of the majority opinion in writing if there is to be an oral dissent.
In response Friday to an inquiry from NPR came this terse statement from the court’s public information office.
“Justice Alito was notified in advance by Justice Sotomayor’s chambers that she would be reading a dissent from the bench. It was a misunderstanding on Justice Alito’s part.”
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