Former President Jimmy Carter’s casket arrived at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday afternoon for a military tribute and to lie in State in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
The streets of Washington, D.C., with the ground covered in snow from a recent storm, were quiet as his casket passed. Members of Congress, Vice President Kamala Harris, Cabinet secretaries and Carter’s family members are paying their respects in a Service in the Capitol Rotunda.
“Today, we gather to begin a final farewell to Jimmy Carter — Navy veteran, peanut farmer, governor of Georgia, and President of the United States,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said, opening the service. “Sunday school teacher, Nobel prize winner, advocate for peace and human rights, and first and foremost, a faithful servant of his creator, and of his fellow man.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said Carter “modeled the virtues of service and citizenship as well as any other American,” noting Carter’s volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity and efforts to broker peace and equality.
Harris called Carter “a forward-looking president with a vision for the future” who was an “all too rare example of a gifted man who also walks with humility, modesty and grace.”
“James Earl Carter Jr. loved our country. He lived his faith, he served the people and he left the world better than he found it,” Harris said. “And in the end, Jimmy Carter’s work and those works speak for him louder than any tribute we can offer.”
The State funeral is set for Thursday. President Biden will be delivering a eulogy at Thursday’s Service, along with several others. President-elect Donald Trump said he will attend. CBS
