The White House has confirmed reports that President Barack Obama will not be attending the funeral of late Supreme Court Justice Scalia’s funeral which is scheduled for Saturday. Instead, the president and first lady Michelle Obama will pay their respects to Scalia on Friday, when the Justice’s body lies in repose in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court building. The White House added that Vice President Joe Biden will attend Saturday’s funeral at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
The last supreme court justice to pass away was Justice William Rehnquist in 2005. Then-President George W. Bush not only attended the service, but delivered a eulogy along with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Critics claim that his decision not to attend Justice Scalia’s funeral is just the latest in a string of snubs over the past several years. While Obama has attended some high profile funerals like those of former South African President Nelson Mandela and Senator and ex-KKK member Robert Byrd, the president has skipped out services for a number of high-profile conservatives and members of the U.S. military:
Margaret Thatcher
When the Iron Lady passed away in 2013, the Obama administration sent what the Daily Signal referred to as “a low-level delegation similar in size and scope to the delegation sent to the funeral of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez.”
Chris Kyle
After Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle was murdered on a gun range in 2013, the president opted not to attend his Texas funeral. Furthermore, the president ruffled even more feathers by failing to acknowledge Kyle in his State of the Union address which was held on the same day.
Major General Harold Greene
Army Major General Harold Greene became the highest ranking combat fatality since Vietnam after he was ambushed by an Afghan police officer in August of 2014. The president was not present when Greene was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. The administration also came under criticism for failing to even releasing a statement upon receiving news of the president’s death.
Zeinuti Onyango
The funeral of President Obama’s aunt Zeinuti Onyango was not the high-profile affair of a high ranking government official, but the fact that the decided to play a few rounds of golf instead of attending is somewhat telling. The Kenyan-born Onyango passed away at the age of 61 in 2014.
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