President Carter to lie in state at US Capitol ahead of National Cathedral funeral

Former President Jimmy Carter’s body will be brought to the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday afternoon where he will lie in state for three days before a state funeral in Washington, D.C.

Carter died last week on Dec. 29, at the age of 100. His death came just over a year after the passing of his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other congressional leaders announced last month that Carter would lie in state, writing a letter to his son, James Carter III. 

JIMMY CARTER, 39TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DEAD AT 100

Jimmy Carter died at the age of 100, the only former president to reach the century mark. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

“In recognition of President Carter’s long and distinguished service to the nation, it is our intention to ask the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate to permit his remains lie in state in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol,” the leaders wrote.

“With your approval, we will move forward with these arrangements so that the American people have the opportunity to pay their respects to President Carter before he is laid to rest.”

Carter’s ceremonial arrival to the Capitol Rotunda is expected on Tuesday afternoon, and will feature remarks from Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Former President Carter’s body will lie in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Members of the public will be able to view Carter’s casket from early Wednesday through early morning Thursday.

The former Democratic commander in chief’s body arrives in Washington, D.C., Tuesday afternoon lying in repose at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

A week-long memorial began in Carter’s hometown of Plains, Georgia, on Saturday morning. Former U.S. Secret Service agents who protected Carter carried his casket as pallbearers when it left the Phoebe Sumter Medical Center.

JIMMY CARTER EXPECTED TO LIE IN ROTUNDA AHEAD OF STATE FUNERAL SCHEDULED BY BIDEN

The hearse containing the casket of former President Jimmy Carter moves toward Plains, Georgia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Carter died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

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“Every overpass had people on it. It was amazing and gave you goosebumps just to sit in the van and see the reactions of the people of Georgia,” his son said at the funeral in Atlanta.

Carter’s state funeral service will be held at the Washington National Cathedral on Thursday morning. The former president will then end his final journey with a private funeral service in Plains, before being interred in a private ceremony at the Carter family residence.