President Trump said Saturday he will be sending the presidential aircraft to pick up George H.W. Bush’s casket from Texas and bring it to Washington, where the late president will lie in state in the Capitol starting Monday.
“Air Force One will be taking myself and a large group of our people back to Washington. It will then be reset and it will be sent to Houston to pick up the casket of President Bush and then be brought back to Washington,” Trump said at the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
{mosads}“We’ll be sending Air Force One, which is a special tribute that he deserves very much and it’s my honor, and again, he’ll be greatly missed. Terrific person, terrific man,” Trump added.
Bush’s family announced the former president’s death Friday in a statement released by his son, former President George W. Bush. No cause of death has been given. He was 94 years old.
Trump has declared Wednesday to be a national day of mourning and ordered all federal agencies to be closed that day in Bush’s honor. The stock market will be shut down as well.
The late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was the last politician to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. His casket was brought to Washington from Arizona on Air Force Two.
Trump plans to attend George H.W. Bush’s funeral services at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Details on the services have not yet been released.