The Latest: Jimmy Carter’s funeral begins at National Cathedral
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. President, is being honored with the pageantry of a state funeral in the nation’s capital. He will later be honored a second service and burial in his tiny Georgia hometown that launched a Depression-era farm boy to the world stage.
What to know:
Here’s the latest:
Top Biden officials attend the service
Among Biden White House officials attending Carter’s funeral are chief of staff Jeff Zients, climate adviser John Podesta and Tom Perez, director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
Posthumous Ford eulogy notes Palestine and “ruffled feathers” in Washington
Steven Ford, son of Gerald Ford, noted Carter and his 1976 rival aligned in pushing the U.S. foreign policy establishment to take action on Israel and Palestine—a reference to the longtime U.S. policy advocating a “two-state solution” in the region.
Carter sometimes rankled his successors and the U.S. foreign policy establishment with his emphasis on the rights of Palestinians.
Nearly a half-century later, Israel remains at war with Hamas in Gaza.
Those close to Carter have said that the president, in his final months, was often agitated and bothered watching news coverage of the conflict in the region where he had brokered the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel.
Ford’s letter also mentioned Rosalynn, whom he referenced as a “true citizen of the world” who was a friend to his wife, Betty, and entire family.
Club of former presidents is evident at the service
It’s often referenced as an exclusive organization wherein only the members understand the stakes, but the club of former presidents is evident in some of the reactions coming from the front few rows at Carter’s funeral.
As Ford’s son read his father’s remarks about how he and Carter had joked about the expense of presidential libraries, Clinton and Bush were among those laughing, since – as former presidents – it’s a cost and process they both well know.
Gerald Ford’s son eulogizes Carter
In the remarks read by his son, Gerald Ford wrote that the 1976 election brought about “one of my deepest and most enduring friendships,” in his bond with Carter.
Steven Ford also joked that his father and Carter had bemused themselves about which of them would die first, in agreeing to eulogize each other.
Steven Ford noted that Carter “supported my mom and gave her hope that week” when Ford died.
Carter children sit in the front pew
The Carter children are seated in order of age on the front left pew, starting from the aisle: Jack, Chip (James Earl III), Jeff and Amy.
They are across the aisle from the other presidents and first ladies.
The brothers were young adults who worked as key campaign aides and volunteers in 1976. Amy Carter was in elementary school. Photographers captured her when she was with her parents on the trail. But she spent most of the campaign in Plains, being cared for by her grandmothers.
Carter’s grandson spoke of the late president’s devotion to God
Joshua Carter talked about the legendary Sunday school class his grandfather led for decades at Maranatha Baptist Church, also noting that Jimmy Carter spent his “entire life helping those in need.”
He said his grandfather “eliminated diseases in forgotten places” and “waged peace” around the world.
During Sunday School lessons, Carter said he did it because “he worshipped the Prince of Peace, and He commanded it.”
He noted Carter’s Sunday School students were the first to learn he’d won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Carter funeral also a reunion
Carter outlived many of his Cabinet members, campaign advisers and inner circle. Not all that remain were included in the limited tickets for his state funeral at National Cathedral.
But many of those are gathering in Washington for a reception and reunion to watch the funeral. Several Carter administration figures who are inside the cathedral will join their former colleagues after the service as Carter and his family return to Georgia for his hometown funeral and burial.
Dean of cathedral uses Carter’s given name
The Very Reverend Randloph Marshall Hollerith, dean of the cathedral, opens by recognizing Carter as “your servant James.”
Carter rarely used his given name. He took the oath of office as “Jimmy Carter,” and he signed official documents that way.
Carter’s casket carried in silence to the front of the cathedral
Carter’s casket has taken its place at the front of Washington National Cathedral. As it passed, a number of dignitaries on the front row, including Biden and Clinton, placed their hands over their hearts. Rather than music for a processional, Carter’s casket is being carried up the center aisle in silence, broken only by a reading that includes passages from the New Testament gospel of John and book of Romans.
The footsteps from the military pallbearers can be heard as they pivot to place Carter’s casket for the service.
Carter’s funeral procession begins
The funeral procession of Carter has begun, with a crucifer, torch bearers – typical of an Episcopal church procession – as well as representatives of all branches of the U.S. military.
Michelle Obama is not at the service
One of the dignitaries missing from the former president lineup is Michelle Obama.
Ahead of the funeral, CNN reported that the former first lady had a scheduling conflict and remained in Hawaii, where she had been on an “extended vacation.” Asked why she was absent from Carter’s funeral, Michelle Obama’s office issued a statement saying that her thoughts and prayers are with the late former president’s family but otherwise did not say where she was or explain her absence.
The order of ceremony for Carter’s state funeral
This is the order of ceremony for Carter’s service, according to the White House.
Joshua Carter reads the First Lesson (Romans 8:1-18, 38-39)
Steven Ford delivers remarks
Ted Mondale delivers remarks
The Armed Forces Chorus, the U.S. Marine Chamber Orchestra, and the Cathedral Choir perform “Eternal Father, Strong to Save.”
Stuart Eizenstat delivers remarks
Jason Carter delivers remarks
Phyllis Adams and Leila Bolden perform “Song Rise to Thee.”
The U.S. Marine Orchestra performs “Amazing Grace”
The President delivers a eulogy
James Carter delivers the Gospel reading (Matthew 5:1-16)
Reverend Andrew Young delivers the homily
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood perform “Imagine.”
The Lord’s Prayer
The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde and Reverend Anthony Lowden deliver The Prayers
The Most Reverend Sean Rowe, The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, and The Very Reverend Randolph Marshall Hollerith deliver
the Commendation
The Most Reverend Sean Rowe delivers the Blessing
The Very Reverend Randolph Marshall Hollerith delivers the Dismissal
Dismissal song “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.”
Carter’s casket removed from hearse
Carter’s casket is being removed from the hearse and being positioned for delivery into Washington National Cathedral.
Biden and the first lady sit next to Harris and the second gentleman
Biden and his wife Jill are taking their seats next to Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff. There were no visible greetings, but the former presidents were all just together in a private room ahead of their entrances into Washington National Cathedral.
Chorus sings as Carter’s casket readies entrance into the Cathedral
The Armed Forces Chorus is singing the hymn, “Be Still My Soul,” ahead of Carter’s casket entering the Cathedral. Carter, as most presidents do, planned many details of his state funeral years ahead of his death, including most musical selections.
Former presidents and spouses sit near each other
Other former presidents and their wives are being seated just down the row from Trump, including George W. Bush and his wife, former first lady Laura Bush.
As she and her husband entered, former first lady Hillary Clinton walked around the end of the row on which Trump was sitting, going first to greet Bush and others.
Obama and Trump sit together
Obama has taken his seat next to Trump, chatting with his successor in office, who did not stand to greet him but shook hands. They were engaged in conversation as Harris entered the cathedral.
Trump and Pence shake hands
Trump and Pence have shaken hands as the former president takes his seat, just in front of his former vice president.
Trump and Melania enter the cathedral
Trump and his wife, Melania, are entering Washington National Cathedral and being ushered to their seats.
Congressional leaders attend Carter’s funeral
Congressional leaders are also in attendance as they await the start of Carter’s funeral.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is seated next to House Speaker Mike Johnson, both Republicans. Democratic leaders are also in Washington National Cathedral, including House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.
Carter and Andrew Young had a long, notable friendship of Southern politicians
Andrew Young, the 92-year-old former U.N. Ambassador for Jimmy Carter, will speak about his longtime friend Thursday.
But Young was skeptical of Jimmy Carter in 1970. The former aide to Martin Luther King Jr. knew that the young state senator had never met King and was a calculated moderate during the Civil Rights Movement. Then Young watched Carter run for Georgia governor a second time and campaign at an Atlanta restaurant famous in the Civil Rights Movement. Carter, Young said, insisted on shaking every hand — including in the kitchen, where Young said no politicians — Black or white — typically went.
Speaking to The Associated Press, Young noted how Carter, as governor and president, elevated more Black appointees, including judges, than his predecessors had combined. And he said Carter was the first U.S. president to pay attention to Africa.
“We still haven’t caught up with him,” Young said. “He was ahead of his time.”
Carter’s casket arrives
Carter’s casket has arrived at the Washington National Cathedral, met by an honor guard hoisting flags rippling in the cold wind. Snow from a recent winter storm that gripped the nation’s capital is still visible on rooftops and grounds, sparkling in the sunlight.
Which presidents will attend Carter’s funeral?
Expected at Carter’s funeral are the five living men who have also served as president: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
There are also incoming, current and former vice presidents, including JD Vance, Kamala Harris, Al Gore, Mike Pence —and of course Biden, who served alongside Obama.
Bipartisanship on display in the Washington National Cathedral
Bipartisanship is on display in the Washington National Cathedral, with former Vice President Al Gore, a Democrat, seated next to former Vice President Mike Pence, a Republican.
As often is the case with the funerals of former politicians, the reverence and respect on display thus far among attendees at Carter’s upcoming funeral supersedes their partisan differences.
Another point of note is that Carter’s funeral appears to be the first time that Pence and his former running mate, Trump, will be in the same space as Pence since their term together and fractured relationship following the Jan. 6 violence at the U.S. Capitol.
The two spoke at a 2023 Lincoln Day Dinner in Iowa during the 2024 GOP presidential primary but were on stage at different times.
Carter’s procession passes White House
Carter’s funeral procession has just passed by the White House, which he once called home during his term as president.
Brett Kavanaugh greets Vance ahead of the service
Justice Brett Kavanaugh shook hands with Vice President-elect JD Vance and hugged his wife, Usha Vance, who sat in the third row.
The Carter family is large. But there’s a notable absence: Rosalynn
Four children, a few dozen children and great-grandchildren, and many in-laws are accompanying Carter on his state funeral journey. But there’s a notable absence: former first lady Rosalynn Carter.
The Carters had the longest presidential marriage — 77 years — when she died in 2023 at the age of 96. Carter’s mother, “Miss Lillian,” was a nurse who delivered Rosalynn in Plains. She brought her young son Jimmy to meet the baby days later.
She became one of the most active first ladies in U.S. history, campaigning for Carter on his way up the political ladder and sitting in on Cabinet meetings in Washington. Carter admitted he did not treat Rosalynn as his equal early in their marriage. But it grew into a “full partnership.” She essentially ran the peanut warehouse. She campaigned for him solo. She sat in on Cabinet meetings.
Years after his 1980 defeat, Rosalynn Carter said she missed Washington — far more than Jimmy did.
Supreme Court Justices chat ahead of the funeral
Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett stood talking, along with Sonia Sotomayor and Samuel Alito inside the Washington National Cathedral.
Ford-Carter friendship will be on display at Washington National Cathedral
Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford were rivals in the 1976 presidential election. And then they were friends.
The two men agreed long ago that whichever of them outlived the other would speak at the first funeral. Carter eulogized Ford after he died in 2006. Ford still found a way to keep his end of the bargain. His grandson, Ted Ford, will read a tribute Thursday to Carter that the 35th president wrote ahead of his own death.Ford and Carter became presidential friends quickly.
Ford was instrumental in helping Carter secure enough Republican senators to adopt the Panama Canal treaty that handed control of the waterway to its home country—a move that President-elect Donald Trump is questioning ahead of his Jan. 20 return to office.
Biden’s motorcade arrives at the Washington National Cathedral
President Biden’s motorcade has arrived to the Washington National Cathedral. Members of the British embassy lined Massachusetts Avenue outside the building as Biden’s motorcade passed by.
Carter elevated the vice presidency. Mondale will be represented.
It was the “Grits and Fritz” ticket for Democrats in 1976. Carter, the Southern governor, tapped Minnesota Sen. Walter “Fritz” Mondale for his running mate.Mondale, who lost to Ronald Reagan in 1984 four years after the Republican defeated Carter, died in 2021. But he wrote a tribute to Carter before his death that Ted Mondale will read Thursday.
Carter elevated the vice presidency, giving Mondale a more prominent role than the No. 2 spot typically had. That set an example followed by Al Gore under Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney under George W. Bush, and Joe Biden under Barack Obama.
After Reagan’s 1980 landslide, Mondale defended the Carter administration: “We told the truth, we obeyed the law and we kept the peace — and that’s not bad.”
Carter’s casket placed into a hearse
Carter’s casket has been placed into a hearse, which will take his body to Washington National Cathedral.
On a frosty morning in the nation’s capital, relatives and Special Honor Guard members have donned gloves and ear muffs, as a stiff wind whips flags that accompany the former president’s body.
Music will feature prominently Thursday for the ‘Rock-n-Roll president’
Music — sacred, patriotic and popular — will feature prominently throughout Thursday for the evangelical president who campaigned with the Allman Brothers Band, befriended Willie Nelson and quoted Bob Dylan in his 1977 inaugural address.In Washington, the U.S. Marine Orchestra and Armed Forces Chorus will sing “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” the Navy hymn, for the only U.S. Naval Academy graduate to become commander in chief. Country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who succeeded Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter as ambassadors for Habitat for Humanity, will perform John Lennon’s “Imagine,” reprising their role at the former first lady’s funeral in 2023.Hymns include “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” and, in Plains, “Let there be Peace on Earth.”
Carter-King relationship adds another chapter
Jimmy Carter did not meet Martin Luther King Jr. before his assassination. But he became close to King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, and King’s parents — a key enduring friendship.
Martin Luther King Sr. was a key advocate for Carter in his 1976 campaign and delivered the benediction at the his nominating convention that year and four years later. Carter awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom to the younger King, presenting the medal to his widow.
And Carter pushed for a national holiday to commemorate King.King’s daughter, Bernice King, will be at Carter’s national funeral. She told AP that Carter was a “true pro-life president” because of his emphasis on human rights.
Carter’s casket departs the U.S. Capitol
Carter’s casket is departing the U.S. Capitol as part of a procession to the Washington National Cathedral for his funeral. Accompanied by a 21-gun salute, the procession has paused during a performance of “Hail to the Chief.”
The U.S. Navy band has continued to play as the body bearer team descends the steps, which are flanked with uniformed Special Honor Guard members.
Besides Joe Biden, several eulogists will offer tributes to Jimmy Carter
President Joe Biden is the highest-ranking eulogist for Carter’s national funeral. But there are several other speakers from different stages of the late president’s 100 years. They include Jason Carter, the former president’s eldest grandchild who now chairs The Carter Center board; Stu Eizenstat, who shaped Carter’s domestic policy as a top White House aide; and Andrew Young, Carter’s fellow Georgian who served as his U.N. ambassador.
Steve Ford, the grandson of President Gerald Ford, will read a tribute from his grandfather, whom Carter defeated in 1976. The 35th president died in 2006. Ted Mondale, son of Carter’s vice president, Walter Mondale, will read a eulogy his father wrote for Carter before his own death in 2021.
Read Jimmy Carter’s full obituary
Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, died on Dec. 29, 2024, at 100 years old.
Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world — Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation’s highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s.
“My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference,” Carter once said.
Buried with Rosalynn
Carter will be buried next to his wife, Rosalynn Carter, in a plot near the home they built before his first state Senate campaign in 1962 and where they lived out their lives with the exception of four years in the Georgia Governor’s Mansion and four years in the White House.
Voices from mourners at the US Capitol
A long line of mourners gathered to pay their respects at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday night.
“President Carter was the governor of the great state of Georgia when I was born,” said Lyn Leverett, among the people who waited in below-freezing weather Wednesday. “So he’s been around my, you know, my whole entire being. And I just want to pay my respects to a decent person.”
“I’m originally from Nashua, New Hampshire, and when I was a child, Jimmy Carter slept at my house,” said Susan Prolman. “He had just won the Iowa caucuses and he was in New Hampshire campaigning for the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire presidential primary. And I created this little poster for him, and he very kindly signed it.”
Kim James, also a Maryland resident, said she had yet to start grade school when Carter was elected and thinks of him more as the white-haired former president who fought disease and advocated for democracy in the developing world and built homes for Habitat for Humanity in the U.S. and abroad.
“He cared about other people,” James said, adding that political leaders today should work harder to replicate that example. “That selflessness — it always stood out.”
2 notable funeral attendees remember Carter
“He set a very high bar for presidents, how you can use voice and leadership for causes,” said Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder whose foundation funded Carter’s work to eliminate treatable diseases like the Guinea worm. Gates spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
“Whatever prestige and resources you are lucky enough to have, ideally you can take those and take a even broader societal view in your post private sector career,” Gates said.
Bernice King, daughter of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., compared the two Georgians and Nobel Peace Prize winners.
“Both President Jimmy Carter and my father showed us what is possible when your faith compels you to live and lead from a love-centered place,” said King, who is also planning to attend the Washington service.
Jimmy Carter’s Sunday school class never got old
No matter how many times one crammed into the modest sanctuary at Maranatha Baptist Church, there was always some wisdom to be gleaned from Carter’s measured, Bible-inspired words.
Carter taught his Sunday school class roughly twice a month to accommodate crowds that sometimes swelled to more than 500. (On the other Sundays, no more than a couple dozen regulars and a handful of visitors usually attended services).
Here, the former commander-in-chief and the onetime first lady, his wife of more than seven decades, were simply Mr. Jimmy and Ms. Rosalynn. And when it came to worshipping with them, all were welcome.
Read about the former president’s Sunday school class
Even during funeral rites, Trump criticized Carter’s presidency
As Carter’s remains left Georgia Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump criticized the late former president during a news conference in Florida for ceding control of the Panama Canal to its home country.
Pressed on if criticism of Carter was appropriate during the solemn funeral rites, Trump responded, “I liked him as a man. I disagreed with his policies. He thought giving away the Panama Canal was a good thing.”
“I didn’t want to bring up the Panama Canal because of Jimmy Carter’s death,” he added, even though he had first mentioned it unprompted.
Biden: Carter lived a life of ‘purpose and meaning’
“To all of the young people in this nation and for anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning – the good life – study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith, and humility,” President Joe Biden said in a statement issued the day Carter died.
Biden spoke later that evening about Carter, calling it a “sad day” but one that “brings back an incredible amount of good memories.”
“I’ve been hanging out with Jimmy Carter for over 50 years,” Biden said in his remarks.
He recalled the former president being a comfort to him and his wife Jill when their son Beau died in 2015 of cancer. The president remarked how cancer was a common bond between their families, with Carter himself having cancer later in his life.
“Jimmy knew the ravages of the disease too well,” said Biden, who scheduled a state funeral in Washington, D.C., for Carter on Jan. 9.
The timeline of Carter’s funeral procession
9 a.m. ET: Carter’s body leaves the Capitol where it currently lies in state
9:30 a.m.: His body arrives at the Washington National Cathedral
10 a.m.: The state funeral begins
11:15 a.m.: Carter’s body departs for Joint Base Andrews in Maryland
11:45 a.m.: Cater’s body flies back to Fort Moore, Georgia
2 p.m.: Upon arrival, a motorcade takes Carter’s body to Plains, Georgia
3:30 p.m.: Motorcade arrives at Maranatha Baptist Church for a private service
4:45 p.m.: Motorcade from the church to the Carter residence
5:20 p.m.: The Carter family hosts a final and private interment at the Carter residence
‘Jimmy Carter was always an outsider’
All of the pomp will carry some irony for the Democrat who went from his family peanut warehouse to the Governor’s Mansion and eventually the White House. Carter won the presidency as the smiling Southerner and technocratic engineer who promised to change the ways of Washington — and eschewed many of those unwritten rules when he got there.
“Jimmy Carter was always an outsider,” said biographer Jonathan Alter, explaining how Carter capitalized on the fallout of the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal that toppled Richard Nixon. “The country was thirsting for moral renewal and for Carter, as this genuinely religious figure, to come in and clean things up.”