Former President Carter is expected to lie in state at the Capitol next week after congressional leaders on Monday announced they intend to ask the House and Senate to pass resolutions allowing it.
Such resolutions are generally a formality and the Carter Center on Monday accepted the invitation, following Carter’s death at the age of 100 on Sunday.
In a letter addressed to Carter’s son, James Carter III, and the Carter Center, congressional leaders announced their intent to have the former president lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
The letter was signed by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Senate Majority Leader-elect John Thune (R-S.D.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who also expressed their condolences for his death.
The lawmakers said they intended for Carter’s remains to lie in state at the Capitol in recognition of his “long and distinguished service to the nation,” and so the American people can “pay their respects to President Carter before he is laid to rest.”
In a post online, the Carter Center said it was accepting the invitation.
“Today, in recognition of his long and distinguished service to the nation, the Congress of the United States graciously extended an invitation to the Carter family for former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to lie in state in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.,” the Carter Center said in a statement.
“This will allow an opportunity for the American people to pay their respects to President Carter. This invitation was respectfully and gratefully accepted,” it added.
Carter, who turned 100 earlier this year, died peacefully Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia.
Members of the political world expressed condolences and praised his lifetime of service.
His death comes more than a year after his wife, Rosalynn Carter, died in November 2023.
Carter’s funeral will be held in Washington early next month and be part of roughly a week of remembrances. His body is set to lie in state Tuesday and Wednesday and depart the Capitol early Thursday for the National Cathedral.
After his funeral services in Washington, Carter’s remains will return to Georgia, where he will be buried in hometown Plains, next to his late wife.
