The Biden Administration returned the flag honoring prisoners of war and military missing in action to its traditional location on the flagpole that flies atop the White House after it was moved to a remote spot on the South Lawn by Donald Trump in September of last year.
The Washington Post reports that a bipartisan group of Congress members from both chambers urged President Joe Biden to relocate the flag, and the flag was spotted above the White House residence today.
Trump publicly demeaned members of the military who were captured during war. A draft dodger whose father had a doctor declare him unfit for military duty during the Vietnam War, Trump said, “I like people who weren’t captured” while demeaning the military service of the late Arizona Senator John McCain. Trump also called people killed in action “suckers” and “losers” at various times.
“I am thankful that the POW/MIA flag now once again flies high in its rightful place above the White House. It is a powerful way to continually remember and pay tribute to the tremendous sacrifice of prisoners of war and missing service members,” Democratic New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan said in a statement. Hassan joined fellow Senators Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts and Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, in sending a January letter to Biden asking for the POW/MIA flag to fly above the White House.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said it was a “true display of bipartisanship” and “in keeping with the president and first lady’s commitment to honor the sacrifices of all those who serve.”