Maine closes some state offices as part of day of mourning for George H.W. Bush

AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine’s governor has declared certain state government agencies and offices will close in honor of former President George H.W. Bush.

Republican Gov. Paul LePage announced Monday that non-essential state offices will be closed on Wednesday, coinciding with a national day of mourning for Bush, who died Friday at 94.

LePage says state offices will be closed out of respect for Bush, whom he called “Maine’s president.”

LePage’s office says the closure won’t impact the swearing-in of lawmakers Wednesday.

Bush spent nearly every summer of his life in the coastal village of Kennebunkport.

Bush will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol rotunda for a ceremony and public visitation from Monday through Wednesday. An invitation-only funeral service will follow at Washington National Cathedral before his casket returns to Houston for burial.

The American flag flies at half-staff in honor of President George H. W. Bush at Walker’s Point, the Bush’s summer home, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018, in Kennebunkport, Maine. Bush died at the age of 94 on Friday, about eight months after the death of his wife, Barbara Bush. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)