In a significant gathering of political figures, former President Joe Biden is set to attend the memorial service for the late former Vice President Dick Cheney at the Washington National Cathedral this Thursday. The service will also feature remarks by former President George W. Bush.

A representative for President Biden confirmed his attendance. Following Cheney’s passing, Biden, a Democrat, expressed his respect for Cheney’s commitment to conservative values, stating, “He believed, as I do, that family is the beginning, middle, and end.”

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and his administration have remained noticeably silent regarding Cheney’s death on November 3, which resulted from complications related to pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease. Whether Trump will attend the invitation-only funeral remains unknown, especially given the strained relations between him and the Cheney family.

Unlike the customary response to the passing of prominent figures, Trump did not issue a statement or a presidential proclamation regarding Cheney’s death. However, the White House did lower its flags to half-staff, a gesture that Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated was done “in accordance with statutory law.”

This approach was also communicated to congressional leaders earlier this month. They were advised that flag-lowering protocols follow statutory guidelines, which include procedures for the deaths of principal government figures, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

Federal law says when a former vice president dies, then the U.S. flag will fly at half-staff from the day of death until the day of interment.

The implication was that congressional leaders should not wait for a formal proclamation because one would not be coming. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

The White House on Wednesday did not respond to a request for comment on why a proclamation was never issued for Cheney, or whether Trump was invited to the funeral. During his reelection campaign last year, Trump regularly criticized Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney, who had become one of Trump’s fiercest critics in the Republican Party after his attempts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election. The former vice president, a longtime Republican stalwart, said he would vote for Trump’s opponent, Democrat Kamala Harris, saying last year that Trump can “never be trusted with power again.”

In addition to serving as Bush’s vice president, Cheney was also the defense secretary under President George H.W. Bush and chief of staff for President Gerald Ford. He also served as Wyoming’s lone representative to the House, a seat that was occupied by his daughter, Liz, decades later.

Others delivering tributes at Thursday’s funeral are Cheney’s longtime cardiologist, Jonathan Reiner; former NBC News correspondent Pete Williams, who was Cheney’s spokesman at the Pentagon; Liz Cheney; and the former vice president’s grandchildren.