Jimmy Carter’s funeral procession left Atlanta for Washington, D.C., on Tuesday morning, the next leg of a six-day journey that began Saturday in southwest Georgia and ends Thursday, when the former president will be buried in his hometown Plains, Georgia.
After lying in repose at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta since Saturday, Carter’s remains were transported around 11:30 a.m. to Dobbins Air Reserve Base and flown to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. The motorcade then arrived at the U.S. Navy Memorial, where the hearse was transferred to a horse-drawn caisson and the procession continued to the U.S. Capitol. Members of Congress paid their respects in a late afternoon ceremony.
Public visitation was scheduled to begin later Tuesday night as Carter lies in state in the rotunda. Public visitation at the U.S. Capitol will resume Wednesday and last until Thursday morning.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported extensively on Carter’s life and legacy since the Georgia peanut farmer-turned-president died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. Our team of journalists will continue to report on the funeral procession every step of the way.
You can read Tuesday’s live blog, which included real-time updates and analysis, below.
The live updates blog will resume here at ajc.com on Thursday morning, when a state funeral will be held at the Washington National Cathedral before Carter returns home to Georgia.
We also invite you to browse the AJC collection of Jimmy Carter coverage. You’ll find stories, photo galleries and videos about Jimmy Carter — from his early days in Plains to his time in the White House to his post-presidential life.
The U.S. Capitol Rotunda will be open to the public Tuesday evening for members of the public to pay their respects.
Visitation will resume Wednesday at 7 a.m. and will continue until 7 a.m. Thursday.
From the Capitol, the casket will go to the Washington National Cathedral, where the funeral service will be held.
The AJC will resume live updates of the Carter funeral procession Thursday. Following Thursday's funeral, Carter will be returned to Georgia for a service at home church and buried in Plains.
After a pause for a changing of the guards, the procession passing by the casket continued with Supreme Court justices, members of Biden’s cabinet and Mayor Bowser.
Next up were Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock and members of the Senate then Georgia’s House delegation and their colleagues.
As they walked, the U.S. Army Band Brass Quintet played “Georgia on My Mind.”
After passing the casket, those attending were led out of the building.
The ceremony at the U.S. Capitol ended shortly before 6 p.m., and members of the Carter family were led to the casket to pay their respects.
Some relatives reached out to touch the flag covering the casket.
Other than their footsteps, the Rotunda was silent.
In remembering Carter, Vice President Kamala said she was in middle school when he was elected president.
“I vividly recall how my mother admired him, how much she admired his strength of character, his honesty, his integrity, his work ethic and determination, his intelligence and his generosity of spirit," Harris said.
Harris praised his foresight on energy policy and his achievements in working for peace around the world, both as president and afterward.
“May his life be a lesson for the ages and a beacon for the future," she said.
Jimmy Carter ran for president as the ultimate Washington outsider in 1976. But he was honored by the most powerful people in Washington on Tuesday during a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda to remember him.
With Supreme Court justices, senators, House members, and the Vice President Kamala Harris watching on, GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson said he was just 4 years old when Carter was inaugurated, but he admires him still today.
“I'm reminded of his admonition to, ‘live our lives as though Christ were coming this afternoon,’ and of his amazing personal reflection, ‘If I have one life and one chance to make it count for something,’ we all agree that he certainly did," Johnson said.
After Carter's casket was placed in the middle of the Rotunda, the ceremony began.
Carter's family, as well as Vice President Harris, Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader John Thune, and others stood in the circle surrounding his body.
Barry Black, the chaplain of the Senate, gave the invocation, saying that Carter was “salt and light” to his generation.
“Lord, he made the world more palatable,” Black said.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is among the members of President Joe Biden’s cabinet attending today’s service at the Capitol.
The glee club from the U.S. Naval Academy will sing two selections. The U.S. Army Brass Band Quintet is playing now as a prelude.
President Jimmy Carter’s procession has arrived at the United States Capitol.
Once inside, he’ll be honored by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Vice President of the U.S. Kamala Harris, who will all deliver eulogies and lay wreaths during a service in the Capitol Rotunda.
For anyone who watched Carter battle with Congress during his own years in the White House, seeing Congress honor his legacy is a full circle moment and a well-deserved honor.
People are starting to assemble inside the Capitol Rotunda for the arrival of President Jimmy Carter’s remains.
Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock led in the U.S. senators attending the ceremony.
See video of the senators entering the Rotunda.
Twelve of Georgia’s 14 House delegation members have also arrived for the ceremony. They were led in by U.S. Reps. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, and Austin Scott, D-Tifton, the dean of the delegation and the longest-serving Republican, respectively.
Dozens more House members have now gathered behind them. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who injured her hip recently, is one of the few to be seated.
Three Supreme Court justices: Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Brett Kavanaugh are also in attendance. They are standing next to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
A horse-drawn caisson was bringing former President Jimmy Carter down Pennsylvania and Constitution avenues to the U.S. Capitol shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday.
The procession was designed to mirror the inaugural parade in which Carter and his family walked from the Capitol to the White House on Jan. 20, 1977.
On Tuesday, family members and close friends made the walk while onlookers lined the street to show their support.