WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. leaders yesterday paid tribute to former President Jimmy Carter — who had the longest and most admired post-presidency in history — as he laid in state at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday ahead of his funeral on Thursday.
Members of Congress and several Supreme Court justices gathered around Carter’s flag-draped coffin under the Capitol dome. Several praised Carter’s actions as the 39th president and the humanitarian work he pursued for decades after leaving office in 1981.
“Jimmy Carter was an all too rare example of a gifted man who also walked with humility, modesty and grace,” said Vice President Kamala Harris, who belongs to the Democratic Party as Carter did.
Republicans John Thune, Senate leader, and Mike Johnson, House of Representatives speaker, also spoke as Carter family members and other lawmakers observed. Among them were Democratic senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia, where Carter served as governor
The carefully choreographed ceremony came at a time of transition in Washington as Republican President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office from Democratic President Joe Biden on Jan. 20. Security is higher than usual, with fencing surrounding the Capitol.
Carter’s flag-draped casket arrived at the Capitol on a horse-drawn caisson after a funeral procession down Pennsylvania Avenue. Family members followed on foot, in a nod to Carter’s walk down the boulevard during his 1977 inauguration. Cadets from the U.S. Naval Academy saluted the former Navy submarine officer.
Carter’s remains will lie in state in the Rotunda of the Capitol for the next three days for members of Congress and the public to pay their respects. His body will travel by motorcade on Thursday for a funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral.
Carter, who served one White House term from 1977 to 1981, died Dec. 29 at the age of 100.