California Gov. Gavin Newsom will join some Republican governors and the GOP House speaker in raising U.S. flags to their full height on Inauguration Day for President-elect Donald Trump, according to a spokesperson.
Izzy Gardon, the spokesperson for Newsom, said in a statement on Wednesday that Newsom would temporarily direct the flags to be raised to their full height at the state Capitol building in Sacramento on Jan. 20.
Flags at the U.S. Capitol in Washington and many statehouses around the United States were lowered to half-staff due to former President Jimmy Carter’s death as well as to honor victims who were killed in a terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day.
After Carter’s death late last month, President Joe Biden directed federal buildings to lower the flags to half-staff for 30 days. In several social media posts, Trump said that he would prefer the flags to be full to their normal height on Inauguration Day.
Aside from Newsom, a Democrat, several GOP governors have said they would fly flags to their full height but would re-lower them in honor of Carter, who died on Dec. 29, 2024, at age 100.
They include Idaho Gov. Brad Little, North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Earlier this month, the president-elect wrote on his Truth Social platform that Democrats were “giddy” regarding “our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’” during his inauguration.
“They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don’t love our Country,” he said. “Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced on Tuesday that flags will fly full-staff at the U.S. Capitol for Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, with the flags being lowered back to half-staff after the event.
The Epoch Times contacted Newsom’s office for additional comment on Thursday.
Earlier this month, Newsom and Trump sparred over the Newsom administration’s response to the devastating wildfires that have scorched thousands of acres across Los Angeles County and Southern California in recent days. More than two dozen people have been confirmed dead due to the fires, while about a dozen more are still missing.
The president-elect said California has been derelict in how it manages its forests and water resources.
Separately in the post, Trump said California officials had sought to protect the smelt fish “by giving it less water,” which “didn’t work,” he noted.
“Join me and others in thanking the heroic firefighters and first responders who are putting their lives on the line,” he said.
Newsom will likely have to rely on federal assistance from the Trump administration to deal with the aftermath of the fires.
