President Jimmy Carter will be honored in a state funeral Thursday, culminating days of marking the contributions of a man who after leaving office remained an influential leader on the world stage.
Carter, who died late last month at 100 years old, has laid in state in the Capitol rotunda this week. Along with his family, his casket will be moved from the Capitol to the Washington National Cathedral for the funeral proceedings.
There, President Joe Biden will deliver a eulogy. Tributes from former President Gerald Ford and former Vice President Walter Mondale will also be delivered by their sons.
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Also in attendance will be Vice President Kamala Harris, members of Congress, former presidents, Supreme Court justices and members of Carter’s administration.
President-Elect Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, paid their respects at the Capitol on Wednesday evening.
After the funeral, the proceedings will continue to Georgia, where there will be a private family funeral and then Carter will be buried on the grounds of his home in Plains, Georgia.
Carter was a little-known figure outside his native Georgia before running for and winning the presidency in 1976.
He served only one term, rejected by voters upset about a global oil crisis and the kidnapping of American diplomats by Islamist revolutionaries in Iran.
For decades, the Democrat’s legacy was overshadowed by his successor, Republican Ronald Reagan, who tore up much of Carter’s agenda, including the experimental solar panels Carter had installed on the White House roof to promote alternative energy.
But Carter’s legacy was upgraded over the years in the eyes of historians and the general public, both for his charitable post-presidency, when he devoted himself to causes like Habitat for Humanity, and for the accomplishments of his presidency that are now seen as ahead of their time on issues like civil rights, women’s rights and environmentalism.
Harris gave remarks on Tuesday at the Capitol ceremony.
“Jimmy Carter was that all too rare example of a gifted man who also walks with humility, modesty and grace,” she said. “He lived his faith, he served the people, and he left the world better than he found it.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune delivered remarks about Carter’s spirit of volunteerism and how he worked to build homes on behalf of the nonprofit group Habitat for Humanity, including a 1994 project in Thune’s home state, South Dakota.
“He was here to get down in the weeds and the dirt, and he did that, literally, on numerous Habitat builds,” Thune said.
