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WASHINGTON — Lawmakers, military officials and other dignitaries celebrated the late President Jimmy Carter’s life and achievements before, during and after his White House term at a service in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda Tuesday where he will lie in state until Thursday.

James Earl Carter Jr., who served as the nation’s 39th president from 1977 to 1981,  at the age of 100 on Dec. 29 at his home in Plains, Georgia.

The cavernous rotunda filled with dozens of Carter’s relatives and former members of his Cabinet who sat not too far from the current U.S. Supreme Court justices, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Biden administration officials and congressional leaders.

The voices of the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club filled the dome with the Navy hymn and “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” In a nod to Carter’s love for his home state, the U.S. Army Band Brass Quintet performed a rendition of “Georgia On My Mind” as senators, including that state’s Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, filed past the late president’s casket.

The flag-draped casket laid on the same pine  that supported President Abraham Lincoln’s casket in 1865.

Camp David and Habitat for Humanity

Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a eulogy remarking on Carter’s career in office and humanitarian work in the decades that followed.

“Jimmy Carter established a new model for what it means to be a former president,” Harris said, highlighting his work with Habitat for Humanity and leadership in eradicating Guinea worm disease.

Harris, a California Democrat, praised the former president’s environmental work during his time in the White House, including  a 1978 bill that significantly expanded the protection of redwood trees.

She also highlighted Carter as a “forward-looking president with a vision for the future” for his establishment of the Department of Energy, Department of Education and Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as his legacy of  a record number of women and Black judges to the federal bench.

Harris said Carter deserves to be remembered on the international stage for his role in leading the Camp David Accords, a peace treaty  in September 1978 by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

“Jimmy Carter was that all-too-rare example of a gifted man who also walks with humility, modesty and grace,” she said.

Harris continued, “Throughout his life and career, Jimmy Carter retained a fundamental decency and humility. 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.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson also delivered eulogies.

Johnson recalled that he was just 4 years old when Carter was inaugurated.

“He’s the first president that I remember. Looking back it’s obvious now to me as an adult why he captured everyone’s attention,” the Louisiana Republican said. “Jimmy Carter was a member of the greatest generation.”

Johnson recounted Carter’s upbringing in rural Georgia during the Great Depression and his decision to join the Naval Academy during World War II. Shortly after the war, Carter served on one of the first nuclear submarines.

“It’s telling that today the USS Jimmy Carter, a top-secret attack submarine, now roams the oceans bearing the name of the only president who served in such close quarters,” Johnson said.

Carter will be honored Thursday at a memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral. President Joe Biden has declared Thursday a national day of mourning, closing all federal offices in the nation’s capital.

Ceremonial arrival

U.S. service members carried Carter’s flag-draped casket Tuesday morning from The Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta where the late 39th president had been . The 282nd Army Band from Fort Jackson, South Carolina, played “Amazing Grace” as Carter’s four surviving children and their families followed the procession.

Carter’s remains traveled from Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, and arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Prince George’s County, Maryland, just after 2 p.m. Eastern Tuesday. 

The funeral procession stopped for a brief ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial where Midshipmen stood in formation and the U.S. Navy band performed “Four Ruffles and Flourishes” and “Hail to the Chief.” Carter, a Navy , attended the U.S. Naval Academy from 1943 to 1946.

Carter’s casket was placed on a horse-drawn caisson, or carriage, and a military procession mirroring Carter’s inauguration parade in 1977 led the late president’s remains to the east side of the Capitol.

Honorary pallbearers included Carter’s 11 surviving grandchildren.

Carter’s late wife Rosalynn  in November 2023.

Carter will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda until Thursday morning. The public can pay their respects on Jan. 7 from 8:30 p.m. to midnight Eastern, and from 7 a.m. on Jan. 8 through 7 a.m. on Jan 9. 

Last updated 8:31 p.m., Jan. 7, 2025