California to Raise Flags for Trump Inauguration Amid Carter Mourning

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered flags at the state Capitol to be temporarily raised to full height on Jan. 20 for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, breaking from the national half-staff mourning period for former President Jimmy Carter.

The decision, confirmed by Newsom’s press office Wednesday night, aligns California with several Republican-led states and House Speaker Mike Johnson, who have similarly directed flags to fly at full-staff for the inauguration. Flags across the U.S. have been at half-staff since Dec. 29, 2024, following Carter’s death, and will return to half-staff on Jan. 21 for the remainder of the 30-day mourning period.

Newsom, the only Democratic governor to issue such a directive, joins GOP leaders including Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in the move. The decision comes as Southern California faces severe weather challenges, though officials have not linked the two events.

Trump has publicly criticized the potential for flags to remain at half-staff during his inauguration. “The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Jan. 3. “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.”

Historically, flags were flown at half-staff during President Nixon‘s second inauguration in 1973, following Nixon’s own order to lower them after the death of former President Lyndon B. Johnson. The current situation marks a rare overlap of a presidential inauguration and a national mourning period.

House Speaker Johnson has also ordered flags at the U.S. Capitol to fly at full-staff for the inauguration, a move that has drawn mixed reactions. The flags will return to half-staff on Jan. 21, continuing the mourning period until Jan. 28.