United States flags are flying at half-staff at federal and state government buildings across California, as well as San Francisco’s City Hall.
Gov. Gavin Newsom directed flags be lowered on Nov. 4 following the death of former vice-president Dick Cheney. A governor’s office spokesperson said the flags at state buildings were to remain lowered through the former vice president’s internment.
A funeral for Cheney, who died from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease at age 84, will be held Thursday at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. A private interment was scheduled to take place after the service.
Per custom, flags are to be returned to full-staff at sunset on the day of interment, which is when a body is buried or the ashes are placed.
The White House lowered flags to half-staff in the hours after Cheney’s family announced he had died. Noticeably, however, it issued no announcement or proclamation in honor of the former vice president’s service in the hours after his death was announced, according to the Associated Press. Cheney had warned strongly about the current president, saying in 2024 that “There has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.”
Cheney served as vice president from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush, and he was considered by many to be the architect of the Iraq War. Despite his strong conservative credentials, Cheney grew critical of Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capital. He would later say he intended to vote for Trump’s Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris.