Are flags at half-staff after death of former Vice President Dick Cheney?
Flags at the White House were lowered to half-staff on Nov. 4 after the death of former Vice President Dick Cheney , although President Donald Trump has yet to address the news .
Cheney , who served as vice president under former President George W. Bush, died on Nov. 3 , his family announced. He was 84.
Flying the American flag at half-staff is symbolic of a nation in mourning . Generally, flags have been flown at half-staff for the deaths of major officeholders like past presidents and vice presidents. It has also been done for days of remembrance like Memorial Day or the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
While Trump has not ordered flags to be flown at half-staff around the country after Cheney's death, some have already been seen lowered at the White House. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing that the flags were lowered "in accordance with statutory law."
Dick Cheney, vice president under George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009, has died. He was considered one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history.See his political career in photos, including here at a news conference about the war appropriations bill in the Rose Garden of the White House on March 3, 2007.
Has Trump ordered flags to be flown at half-staff for Dick Cheney's death?
Trump has not publicly issued an order for flags to be flown at half-staff for Cheney's death, but Leavitt said they were lowered at the White House "in accordance with statutory law."
The federal law about the position and manner of display of the American flag says that it must be flown at half-staff until a former vice president's day of interment.
Traditionally, past presidents have issued proclamations ordering flags to be flown at half-staff across the U.S. to symbolically mourn the deaths of a former president or vice president.
Most recently, in December 2024, former President Joe Biden ordered flags lowered for 30 days after the death of former President Jimmy Carter . The last time a former vice president died – Walter Mondale in 2021 – then-President Biden also ordered flags to be flown at half-staff.
Similar orders have been made to honor the deaths of other public figures or the anniversary of days of remembrance. Trump directed that flags be lowered most recently after the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk in September.
What does it mean to fly a flag at half-staff?
Flying a flag at half-staff instead of full staff symbolizes mourning.
Former President Dwight Eisenhower standardized the practice. In 1954, he signed a proclamation ordering the U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff on federal grounds for the death of officials or former officials, including the president, vice president, Supreme Court justices and more.
The practice was enacted into law in 1998.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will flags be lowered to half-staff after Dick Cheney's death?
