Watch: Former US President Jimmy Carter's body arrives in Washington for honors
by Andy Sullivan, Reuters · KSL.comEstimated read time: 3-4 minutes
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Former President Jimmy Carter will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol.
- Carter's funeral service will be held at the Washington National Cathedral on Thursday.
- Both President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump are expected to attend, with Biden delivering the eulogy.
WASHINGTON — The remains of Jimmy Carter, who served only one term in the White House but lived longer than any U.S. president in history, arrived at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to lie in state ahead of a Thursday funeral.
Carter's flag-draped casket arrived 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.
The 39th president's remains will lie in state in the Rotunda of the Capitol for the next three days, where members of Congress and the public will pay their respects. His body will travel by motorcade on Thursday for a funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral.
Members of the House of Representatives and Senate — including Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Carter's home state of Georgia, where he served as governor — as well as members of the Supreme Court gathered in the Rotunda to pay their respects.
The state funeral coincides with preparations for Republican President-elect Donald Trump to succeed Democratic President Joe Biden. Security in Washington is higher than usual. The Capitol is surrounded with fencing ahead of Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration.
Carter, a Democrat who served one White House term from 1977 to 1981, died Dec. 29 at the age of 100.
A committed humanitarian
The former Georgia peanut farmer struggled with a bad economy and the Iran hostage crisis while in office and was handily defeated for re-election by Republican Ronald Reagan.
In the decades since, he earned a reputation as a committed humanitarian and is widely seen as a better former president than he was a president. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
Carter lived longer than any other U.S. president and had been in hospice care for nearly two years before his death. His last public appearance was at wife Rosalynn's funeral in November 2023, where he used a wheelchair and appeared frail.
In August, his grandson Jason Carter said Carter was looking forward to casting a ballot for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump.
Biden has ordered flags at government buildings to be flown at half-staff for 30 days as a sign of mourning. That has irked Trump, who has said they should not be lowered during his inauguration.
At a news conference, Trump reiterated his desire to take back control of the Panama Canal, which Carter signed over to Panama during his presidency.
Members of the public will be able to view the casket from 4:00 p.m. until 10 p.m. MST.
On Wednesday, public viewing hours will resume at 5 a.m. MST, and Carter will lie in state in the Rotunda with a military guard of honor for 24 hours.
Both Biden and Trump were expected to attend Carter's funeral service on Thursday.
Biden was expected to deliver the eulogy at the 8 a.m. MST funeral service. After that, Carter's remains will be flown back home to Georgia. His body will be interred later that day in his hometown of Plains.
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