Members of Congress, the Supreme Court and other dignitaries paid their respects to the late President Jimmy Carter during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday afternoon.
Carter, who died Dec. 29 at age 100, was transported to the Capitol by a horse-drawn cassion after arriving from Atlanta.
“We thank you for his passion for integrity, his commitment to leave the world better than he found it,” said Senate Chaplain Barry Black at the opening of the ceremony.
Vice President Harris, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson delivered eulogies that emphasized Carter’s values of service and citizenship.
“President Carter’s term as president ended in 1981 and for the remainder of his life, the longest post-presidency of any American president ever, he focused on making the lives of his fellow man better,” Thune said, referencing the foundation of the Carter Center and Carter’s work with Habitat for Humanity.
“Jimmy Carter knew that his status as a former president could bring attention to good causes,” he said. “But simply lending his name or maybe attending a gala or two wasn’t Jimmy Carter’s style. He was here to get down in the weeds and the dirt, and he did that literally on numerous habitat builds.”
Johnson said Carter — who became president when the now-speaker was four years old — is the first president he remembers.
“President Carter’s life, his selfless service, his fight against cancer and his lasting contributions to his fellow man are all truly remarkable, whether he was in the White House or in his post-presidential years,” Johnson said.
While the two GOP leaders focused their remarks on Carter’s good works and character, Harris spoke more about his policy achievements while in office. She detailed his efforts to broker peace between Israel and Egypt, the creation of the Departments of Education and Energy and his efforts to put people of color on the federal bench.
“He also passed over a dozen major pieces of legislation regarding environmental protection and more than doubled the size of America’s national parks, including protecting our beloved Redwoods in my home state of California,” she said.
She told stories about Carter sleeping in the homes of his supporters and sharing meals with them during his 1976 campaign and how Carter and his wife rode the bus with volunteers for Habitat for Humanity and gave up their room to a young couple who had delayed their honeymoon to join the trip.
“Jimmy Carter was that all too rare example of a gifted man who also walks with humility, modesty and grace,” Harris said.
Dozens of members of the Carter family were in attendance, as well as members of the Biden cabinet, the former Carter administration cabinet, members of the diplomatic corps and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
State funeral events
Carter’s remains were lying in repose at the Carter Presidential Center ahead of three days of state funeral rites in D.C.
On Tuesday morning, the casket carrying the 39th president left the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, where thousands of mourners paid their respects over the weekend. It traveled to Dobbins Air Reserve Base before boarding Special Air Mission 39 to Joint Base Andrews.
Carter’s casket left Joint Base Andrews Tuesday afternoon and traveled to the U.S. Navy Memorial, paying tribute to his time in the service as a lieutenant who worked on nuclear submarines.
Members of the Carter family walked behind the horse-drawn cassion as it proceeded to the U.S. Capitol. Carter’s grandchildren served as honorary pallbearers.
Some members of the public could be seen braving the wintry weather in Washington to pay their respects to the president along the route.
The funeral procession mirrored the 39th president’s inaugural parade, where Carter and his family walked from the Capitol to the White House on Jan. 20, 1977.
The ceremonial rites are the highest honor given to U.S. citizens, typical of former presidents and long in design by the late president and his wife, who designed how the funeral procession would unfold.
Members of the public are invited to pay their respects from 6 p.m. until midnight Tuesday and 7 a.m. Wednesday through 7 a.m. Thursday, when Carter’s remains will travel from the Capitol to Washington National Cathedral for his National Funeral Service. President Biden is expected to eulogize Carter.
Carter’s remains will return to Georgia Thursday afternoon for a private service at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, where he taught Sunday School well into his 90s, before he’s buried at the family home next to his wife, Rosalynn Carter.
Watch NPR’s live special coverage of Tuesday’s service here.
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