Members of Congress, the Supreme Court and other dignitaries gathered at the U.S. Capitol for a lying-in-state ceremony for former President Jimmy Carter.
Vice President Kamala Harris delivered one of the eulogies for Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100.
Former President Jimmy Carter will lie in state at the Capitol from Tuesday evening until Thursday morning, allowing the public to pay respects.
On Thursday morning, former presidents and other dignitaries will attend a state funeral at Washington National Cathedral. President Joe Biden will deliver a eulogy.
On Thursday afternoon, Carter’s body will return to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, for a private service and private interment. Carter will be buried next to his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, who died on Nov. 19, 2023, at the age of 96.
Former President Jimmy Carter was a president "ahead of his time," from passing over a dozen major pieces of legislation for environmental protection to establishing the Departments of Energy and Education, Vice President Kamala Harris said in her eulogy.
From 1977 to 1981, Carter appointed more Black Americans to the federal bench than all his predecessors combined, and he appointed five times as many women, Harris highlighted.
Carter also "established a new model for what it means to be a former president and leave an extraordinary post-presidential legacy," she said.
From founding The Carter Center to his public health work to his “tireless advocacy for peace and democracy,” Harris said his “works will echo for generations to come.”
Carter was the "all too rare example of a gifted man who also walks with humility, modesty and grace," she said, noting how when he campaigned he slept at his supporters’ homes and shared a meal with them.
Carter "loved our country. He lived his faith. He served the people. And he left the world better than he found it," Harris said.
Carter had said he wanted to live long enough to cast his vote for Harris in the 2024 presidential election. The 100-year-old lifelong Democrat cast his absentee ballot in October.
House Speaker Mike Johnson also commended Carter's commitment to service in his eulogy.
Johnson, who remarked he was 4 years old when Carter was sworn in, said the former president was someone who was humble and captured the imagination of the nation.
He touted his work with Habitat for Humanity and said Carter was "always willing to roll up his sleeves to get the job done."
"It's remarkable to think that one of the 45 men who has served as president and one of 13 who held the role in the nuclear age would humble himself to such service," Johnson said.
New Senator Majority Leader John Thune highlighted former President Jimmy Carter’s work in his 44 years of post-presidency.
Carter dedicated his time to Habitat for Humanity in his effort to provide affordable housing for those in need.
"Jimmy Carter knew that his status as a former president could bring attention to good causes. That’s why he encouraged Habitat to make use of his name and image," Thune 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."
Carter could even be found on a construction site with a hard hat well into his 90s, Thune noted.
Carter "focused on making the lives of his fellow man better," he said.
Former President Jimmy Carter’s motorcade made an emotional stop at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., to honor Carter’s service as a lieutenant in the Navy.
Carter’s childhood dream was to be in the Navy and he went on to graduate from the United States Naval Academy in 1946. Carter resigned from the Navy in 1953 after his father’s death so he could return to the family farm.
Carter’s casket was transferred from the hearse to a horse-drawn military caisson for a funeral procession that reproduces the walk Carter took with his family on the day of his inauguration. On that January day in 1977, Carter walked the mile-and-a-half inaugural parade route to the White House, rather than ride in a limousine, bringing a common touch to his presidency.
Navy officers stood silently along the snow-lined street, witnessing the casket's transfer to the caisson.
The Carter family will walk behind the casket as it heads from the U.S. Navy Memorial to the U.S. Capitol.
