Abbott orders flags at full-staff for Trump's inauguration despite one month order to honor Carter

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced that flags at the state Capitol building in Austin and at all state office buildings will be raised to full-staff next Monday, Jan. 20, to mark President-elect Trump’s inauguration.

The move comes despite the official order by President Biden after the Dec. 29 death of former President Jimmy Carter that flags across the country would fly at half-staff for a 30-day mourning period.

Abbott said in his announcement that “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 have ordered all flags to be raised to full-staff at the Texas Capitol and all state buildings for the inauguration of President Trump.”

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“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,” added the conservative three-term Texas governor.

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An Abbott adviser told Fox News that flags at the Texas Capitol and at state offices would resume flying at half-staff on Jan. 21.

The flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter is carried into the National Cathedral for a funeral service, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“Texas continues to mourn with our fellow Americans across the country over the passing of former President Jimmy Carter,” Abbott said in his statement. “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.”

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According to the U.S. flag code, U.S. flags are flown at half-staff for a 30-day period to mark the passing of a current or former president, at federal government buildings, military installations and vessels, and at U.S. embassies and other facilities around the world.

Flags fly at half-staff in honor of former President Jimmy Carter at Union Station in Washington, D.C., Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Since the U.S. flag code dictates that no flag should fly higher than the American flag on the same or nearby poles, state flags also are lowered during such mourning periods.

Trump earlier this month claimed on social media that “Democrats are all ‘giddy’” about flags being flown at half-staff during his inauguration.

“Nobody wants to see this,” Trump argued. “No American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The U.S. flag code isn’t mandatory, which means that Trump could technically override it once he’s inaugurated as president.

The U.S. flag is shown at the Mar-a-Lago compound in Palm Beach, Fla., while a U.S. Coast Guard boat patrols around the vicinity, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. U.S. flags at President-elect Donald Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago club are back to flying at full height. Flags are supposed to fly at half-staff through the end of January out of respect for former President Jimmy Carter, who died Dec. 29. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The Associated Press observed that a flag at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida was flying at full height on Monday.

The flag had been flying at half-staff, but had been raised in the days after Carter’s funeral service at National Cathedral in Washington D.C. and burial in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, both of which took place on Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report