House speaker denies request for Jackson to lie in honor in US Capitol

The request from the family of the Rev. Jesse Jackson was denied due to precedent that the space is typically reserved for former presidents, the military and select officials.

Published on Mar. 2, 2026

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The office of House Speaker Mike Johnson said it received a request from the family of the Rev. Jesse Jackson to have his remains lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol, but the request was denied. The speaker's office cited the precedent that the Capitol space is typically reserved for former presidents, the military, and select officials.

Why it matters

The decision to deny the request to have Rev. Jesse Jackson lie in honor at the Capitol highlights the strict protocols and precedents around who is granted that distinction, which is seen as one of the highest honors for a public figure in the United States.

The details

The speaker's office stated that the Capitol space where dignitaries lie in honor is typically reserved for former presidents, members of the military, and select other officials, and that granting the request for Rev. Jackson would set a new precedent.

  • The request from the Jackson family was made recently.

The players

Mike Johnson

The current Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives who denied the request from the Jackson family.

Rev. Jesse Jackson

A civil rights leader and former Democratic presidential candidate whose family requested that his remains be allowed to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol.

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What they’re saying

“We must not let individuals continue to damage private property in San Francisco.”

— Robert Jenkins, San Francisco resident (San Francisco Chronicle)

The takeaway

The denial of the request to have Rev. Jesse Jackson lie in honor at the Capitol underscores the highly selective and precedent-driven nature of that distinction, which is reserved for only the most revered public figures in American history.