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White House orders flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of Rep. John Lewis

The White House issued the order late Saturday morning.
Credit: AP
FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2011, file photo, President Barack Obama presents a 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Lewis announced Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, that he has stage IV pancreatic cancer, vowing he will stay in office and fight the disease with the tenacity which he fought racial discrimination and other inequalities since the civil rights era. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

WASHINGTON — The White House has ordered the United States flag to be flown at half-staff for the remainder of the day on Saturday, July 18 in respect for the memory of US Rep. John Lewis.

"As a mark of respect for the memory and longstanding public service of Representative John Lewis, of Georgia, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions through July 18, 2020.  I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half‑staff for the same period at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations."

RELATED: John Lewis, maker of ‘good trouble,’ dies

The president has not released any additional statement regarding the passing of Lewis. 

The congressman and veteran civil rights leader, often referred to as the "conscience of the Congress," passed away on Friday, following a battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 80. 

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