Speaker Mike Johnson denies request for the Rev. Jesse Jackson to lie in honor in Capitol
WASHINGTON — Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has rejected a request that the late Rev. Jesse Jackson lie in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Jackson’s family made the request to Johnson after the civil rights icon and two-time presidential candidate died Tuesday at the age of 84, the sources said. CNN was the first to report this development.
The practice of lying in state or honor at the Capitol is generally reserved for America’s most distinguished individuals.
A senior Republican Party source said that in rejecting the family’s request, the speaker relied on precedent that the practice was reserved for former presidents, military leaders and other high-ranking government officials.
The GOP source noted that recent lie requests from former Vice President Dick Cheney and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk were rejected.
Yet a handful of private citizens rest in honor in the majestic rotunda. This short list includes civil rights leader Rosa Parks in 2005 and Capitol Police officers who died in the 1998 shooting and after the Jan. 6 attack. Reverend Billy Graham, Southern Baptist pastor and evangelist, was honored in 2018.
The most recent American to be honored in the rotunda was former President Jimmy Carter, who was on display January 7–9, 2025.
Generally, the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader should approve any request that someone lie in state or honor in the rotunda. A concurrent resolution would then need to be passed by both chambers.
Jackson rose to prominence during the civil rights movement, when he participated in protests alongside Martin Luther King Jr. He ran twice for the Democratic presidential nomination, in 1984 and 1988, but was unsuccessful.
Two of his sons will follow him into politics, former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., who served from 1995 to 2012 and is running again for Congress; and current Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill.
Black leaders criticized Johnson’s decision to reject the Jackson family’s request.
“Mike Johnson will defend a president who wants to illegally nationalize elections, but will not allow a civil rights legend to lie about his honor. That tells you everything you need to know about Mike Johnson and his blatant disregard for our Constitution and our democracy,” NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement.
“Rev. Jesse Jackson preached to all Americans to keep hope alive and dream of a nation where all people are treated with dignity and respect. No message could be more appropriate for all Americans to embrace at this time,” the NAACP leader said.
