President Trump on Monday expressed “respect” for Sen. John McCain‘s (R-Ariz.) public service and ordered flags to fly at half-staff following a widespread criticism of his response to the Senate icon’s passing.
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Trump faced a backlash earlier Monday after flags over the White House returned to full-staff after having been lowered over the weekend for just over a day.
The decision fueled complaints from Republicans and Democrats that Trump was not offering proper respect to McCain, who served more than three decades in the Senate after spending time as a prison of war in Vietnam.
U.S. law requires the flag to be lowered the day a member of Congress dies and the following day. But presidents routinely keep the flag at half-staff until the funeral, a tradition Trump decided to follow in his Monday proclamation. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]President Trump will not attend the funeral for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who died Saturday from brain cancer, a spokesperson for the late senator confirmed to The Washington Post on Monday.
It had been previously reported that McCain did not want Trump, with whom he had a contentious relationship, to attend. Former Presidents Obama and George W. Bush are both expected to eulogize McCain at the funeral.
It was also reported that Vice President Pence has been asked to attend McCain’s funeral. The Hill has reached out to the White House and McCain’s Senate office for comment.
And former Vice President Joe Biden, a close friend of McCain’s, will speak at the senator’s funeral service in Phoenix earlier in the week. – READ MORE
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