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Fact check: What are the specifications for the flags flown at the White House?
Executive Summary
The core specifications for the United States flag flown at the White House are set by Executive Order 10834, which prescribes star and stripe arrangement, proportions and authorized sizes for executive agencies; the presidential flag is a separate emblem featuring the presidential seal on a dark blue field and does not replace the national flag [1] [2] [3]. Practices about which flags are flown at the White House—whether the U.S. flag is flown continuously from the rooftop, the use of the POW/MIA flag, and occasional foreign or presidential flags—are governed by statute, executive practice, and agencies such as the Institute of Heraldry and the Office of the President, producing overlapping but distinct rules and traditions [4] [5] [6].
1. What the regulations actually say and why the details matter
Executive Order 10834 supplies the technical blueprint for the national flag’s construction: the number of stripes, the arrangement and size of stars, and proportional relationships among components, plus authorized flag sizes for executive agencies and guidance for procurement and usage [1] [3]. The United States Flag Code (Title 4, U.S. Code, Chapter 1) provides the statutory display rules—how to hoist and lower the flag and conduct during ceremonies—which federal entities and the White House follow for public-facing compliance [5]. These legal and regulatory texts are practical: they ensure consistency of symbol, durability for outdoor exposure, and respect for ceremonial norms. The material difference between law and executive order is that the Flag Code codifies display protocols while Executive Order 10834 focuses on construction and authorized sizes for government use, creating complementary but separate obligations for White House flag management [1] [5].
2. The presidential flag’s role versus the national flag’s dominance
The presidential flag is a distinct symbol—the presidential seal on a dark blue background—with specified proportions and a history of design changes, most recently standardized to the 50-star era in 1960 [2]. It is used to represent the person and office of the president at events and locations, including occasionally at the White House, but it does not supplant the national flag; federal practice maintains the U.S. flag’s primacy at federal buildings and official sites [2]. This distinction matters because visual protocol at the White House often mixes flags—national, presidential, POW/MIA, and occasionally foreign flags—each governed by differing rules and symbolic priorities, leading to operational decisions about placement, size and permanence that are guided by both law and precedent [2] [4].
3. Continuous display, the POW/MIA flag, and historical practice
White House practice includes permanent display of the U.S. flag from the rooftop flagpole, a practice reinforced by presidential direction in 1970 and referenced in later accounts; the current policy is that the national flag remains flying even when the president is not in residence [4]. Since 2019, the POW/MIA flag has also been flown at the White House on specific occasions and sometimes continuously alongside the U.S. flag according to public reporting, reflecting expanded commemorative practice though not altering the legal status of the national flag [4]. Agencies such as the Army Institute of Heraldry issue guidance on physical display conventions—size, position, union orientation—and those technical norms shape how White House flagpoles are equipped and maintained to meet both ceremonial and durability standards [6] [5].
4. Conflicting narratives and new hardware on the South Lawn
Recent reporting documents operational changes at the White House, including installation of new, taller flagpoles—a subject of public attention due to their scale and cost implications—illustrating how symbolic display intersects with politics and aesthetics [7]. There is no regulatory ambiguity that the U.S. flag is primary, but decisions about adding presidential or foreign flags, erecting new poles, and flying commemorative banners involve multiple actors—the White House, the Secret Service, the Institute of Heraldry—and can invite public scrutiny and differing explanations about intent and precedent [7] [6]. These decisions are primarily administrative and ceremonial rather than legal departures from the Flag Code or Executive Order 10834, but they raise questions about messaging and propriety when changes are highly visible.
5. Bottom line: what to expect at the White House and where questions remain
Expect the U.S. flag to conform to the proportions and construction standards in Executive Order 10834 and to be displayed according to the Flag Code; expect the presidential flag and occasional other banners to appear as distinct symbols without supplanting the national flag’s precedence [1] [2] [5]. Operational choices—continuous rooftop display, the presence of the POW/MIA flag since 2019, or the erection of new flagpoles—are supported by agency guidance and precedent but involve discretionary judgment by the White House that can reflect political priorities or commemorative goals [4] [7]. For authoritative, technical specifications consult Executive Order 10834 and Institute of Heraldry documentation for construction and display dimensions; for statutory display rules consult Title 4 of the U.S. Code, Chapter 1 [1] [6] [5].