House Speaker Johnson denies request for Jesse Jackson to lie in honor in Capitol [View all]

Source: ABC News/AP

February 20, 2026, 1:51 PM


WASHINGTON -- The late Rev. Jesse Jackson will not lie in honor in the United States Capitol Rotunda after a request for the commemoration was denied by the House Speaker Mike Johnson's office due to past precedent.

Johnson’s office said it received a request from the family to have Jackson’s remains lie in honor at the Capitol, but the request was denied, because of the precedent that the space is typically reserved for former presidents, the military and select officials. The civil rights leader died this week at the age of 84. The family and some House Democrats had filed a request for Jackson to be honored at the U.S. Capitol.

Amid the country’s political divisions, there have been flare ups over who is memorialized at the Capitol with a service to lie in state, or honor, in the Rotunda. During such events, the public is generally allowed to visit the Capitol and pay their respects.

Recent requests had similarly been made, and denied, to honor Charlie Kirk, the slain conservative activist, and former Vice President Dick Cheney. There is no specific rule about who qualifies for the honor, a decision that is controlled by concurrence from both the House and Senate.

Read more: https://abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/house-speaker-mike-johnson-denies-request-rev-jesse-130344782