Trump to hold funeral service for brother at the White House

President Trump is set to hold a funeral service Friday for his late brother, Robert Trump, at the White House.

The Trump family has invited 200 friends and family members to attend the private service, according to ABC News. The service is expected to be held in the East Room, and costs are being covered personally by the president.

The White House is anticipating “several dozen” guests, according to CNN.

Robert Trump’s body will reportedly be driven to the White House from New York.

President Trump on Monday had said he was considering holding a White House service for his late brother.

“That would be, I think, a great honor to him. I think he’d be greatly honored,” the president told reporters. “He was so proud of what we were doing and what we are doing for our country. So I think it would be appropriate.” 

Robert Trump died Saturday at the age of 71. The president had visited his brother a day earlier in a New York City hospital.

The Friday service is not on the president’s public schedule.

The last time a deceased body was brought to the White House was for the funeral services of former President Kennedy after his assassination in 1963.

A private citizen’s remains have not been brought to the White House for a funeral since a 1936 memorial for Louis Howe, an adviser to former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, according to ABC News. 

In announcing Robert Trump’s death last week, the president said, “He was not just my brother, he was my best friend.” 

“He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. Robert, I love you. Rest in peace,” Trump said.  

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.