The White House has once again lowered the American flag to half-staff, after the flag was left at its full height for most of the day on Monday.
In a statement released at about 4 p.m. ET, President Trump ordered flags be flown at half-staff until Sunday, the day of McCain's internment at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.
The Trump administration faced criticism from politicians across party lines for choosing to fly the flag at full-staff while the rest of the federal government continued to honor Senator John McCain by keeping the flag low. Ohio Gov. John Kasich called the decision to keep the flags flying high "shameful."
While protocol calls for the flag to be flown at half-staff the day and the day after a member of Congress dies, recent tradition has kept the flag at half-staff until sunset on the day of member's interment.
Shameful. https://t.co/DRpwwj2fZs
— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) August 27, 2018
The Trump administration's decision to fly the flag at full-staff also came in the wake of a mass shooting in Jacksonville, Florida. As of 4 p.m. ET on Monday afternoon — more than 24 hours after the shooting — the Trump administration had not yet acknowledged the tragedy.
It was reported on Monday morning that a White House proclamation on McCain's death had been written over the weekend, but not released.
President Donald Trump often butted heads with McCain during his political rise. Trump once claimed McCain wasn't a war hero because he was captured by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, adding that he liked people who "weren't captured." Trump has also derided McCain for being the deciding vote that would have repealed the Affordable Care Act.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
