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Fact check: Has the White House flag protocol changed recently or in a specific year (e.g., 2007, 2015, 2020)?
Executive Summary
The White House flag protocol has not seen a sweeping statutory overhaul in the past two decades; the core rules—continuous display of the U.S. flag over the White House and presidential authority to order flags to half-staff—remain intact, but there have been targeted, documentable adjustments and practices in specific years that address circumstances like Inauguration Day, the display of the POW/MIA flag, and new flagpoles on the grounds. Recent proclamations and administrative actions in 2019, 2025 and specific presidential proclamations in January 2025 created notable, situational changes to how flags are displayed at the White House and federal sites, while the Flag Code itself remains advisory and unchanged in its fundamental intent [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. Below is a concise, sourced comparison of the claims and the factual record.
1. What “no change” advocates point to — the longstanding baseline that still stands
The baseline practice is clear: the U.S. flag flies continuously over the White House whether the president is in residence or not, and the President retains exclusive authority to order flags at half-staff for national mourning or specific commemorations. Legal and institutional guidance reinforces that the United States Flag Code establishes advisory rules for display and care but does not replace presidential proclamations or executive decisions on lowering flags; this explains why observers describe the protocol as essentially unchanged even when proclamations vary by incident [6] [5]. The Flag Code’s advisory nature means many operational shifts at the White House occur by presidential proclamation or White House operational decisions rather than by amendment to the Flag Code itself, which is why both continuity and episodic adjustments coexist in the record.
2. Specific years cited — 2007, 2015, 2020 — what actually happened
The years 2007, 2015 and 2020 cited in questions reflect distinct events rather than a formal rewrite of White House flag protocol. In 2015 President Obama ordered flags lowered following the Chattanooga attack, demonstrating the established presidential authority to direct half-staff observances nationwide [2]. The 2007 mention likely refers to changes in state-level practice or clarifications to federal guidance around half-staff orders for military deaths and state governors’ roles—an administrative evolution in practice rather than a single White House protocol rewrite [7]. During 2020 several presidential and agency proclamations addressed half-staff orders for pandemic-related or other deaths, but these were situational directives, not amendments to the overarching practice that the President controls half-staff proclamations [8].
3. Recent, demonstrable changes — 2019 flag choices and 2025 physical and proclamation updates
Recent, documentable changes are limited but concrete: in 2019 the POW/MIA flag began being flown more regularly at the White House in addition to the U.S. flag, reflecting an operational choice to broaden routine displays [1]. In January 2025 there were explicit presidential proclamations directing flags to be flown at full-staff on Inauguration Day with subsequent half‑staff returns related to particular deaths, and the White House grounds saw the addition of new flagpoles on the North and South Lawns, altering the visible flag configuration on the property [3] [4] [1]. These items represent administrative and ceremonial adjustments rather than a rewrite of legal protocol, but they are notable because they changed what the public sees and what is ordered on specific national days.
4. How proclamations, the Flag Code, and state orders interact in practice
The functional picture is that presidential proclamations and White House operational decisions drive what people observe, while the Flag Code provides advisory norms. State officials and governors can issue half‑staff orders within their jurisdictions and in certain circumstances federal guidance or statutory amendments have clarified interactions, for example around military fatalities in specific states; these are layered actions, not a single unified protocol shift [7] [5]. Because the Flag Code is not strictly enforceable criminal law, the practical authority rests with proclamations, ceremonial practice, and physical changes on the grounds, which explains why commentators can accurately say “no major change” yet still report new practices appearing in particular years.
5. Bottom line: continuity with episodic, public-facing changes
The White House flag protocol remains structurally continuous: the U.S. flag flies over the White House at all times and the President directs half‑staff observances. However, targeted, public-facing changes have occurred—regular flying of the POW/MIA flag since 2019, specific presidential proclamations in 2025 about Inauguration Day and mourning, and the installation of new flagpoles on the White House lawns—that alter day-to-day display without rewriting the Flag Code or creating a single, formalized new protocol [1] [3] [4] [5]. Observers should treat references to particular years as notes about specific actions or proclamations, not indicators of a wholesale change to the underlying flag protocol.