Jimmy Carter will be on display at the Capitol until Thursday

Congressional leaders and Vice President Kamala Harris were on hand Tuesday evening as the body of former President Jimmy Carter arrived at the Capitol, where he will lie in state until his state funeral Thursday morning.

Mr. Carter, who died last week at the age of 100, is the 12th president to lie in state at the Capitol, an honor reserved for senior government officials and military officers. He had the longest life of any former president who died despite health problems, including liver cancer, late in life.

“Jimmy Carter was a forward-thinking president with a vision for the future,” Harris said, noting that his work “will resonate for generations to come.”

She spoke about the 39th president’s work on environmental policy, the expansion of national parks, the elevation of humanitarian rights and much more.

Mr. Carter was a Democrat, but because Congress is currently controlled by Republicans, GOP leaders, Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, have made remarks. eulogies alongside Ms. Harris at the arrival ceremony.

The two men focused their remarks on Mr. Carter’s decades of post-presidential humanitarian work. Much of this effort was carried out through the Carter Center, which he established in 1992.

He was also a peace envoy, often sent by his White House successors to trouble spots around the world, including North Korea, as an advocate for democratic elections. The Navy veteran also volunteered in his post-political career as a carpenter with Habitat for Humanity.

At the Capitol on Tuesday, GOP leaders highlighted Mr. Carter’s tradition of dedicating one week a year to building and restoring homes with Habitat for Humanity.

“It is remarkable to think that one of 45 men who have served as president, and one of only 13 who have held that office in the nuclear age, would submit to such service,” Mr. Johnson said. “We all know that his concern for humanity was not limited to building houses.”

Mr. Thune said that “just lending his name or maybe attending a gala or two was not Jimmy Carter’s style,” noting that he literally buried himself in the weeds and dirt on many Habitat constructions.

Democratic leaders Charles E. Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York, and the second gentleman Doug Emhoff joined Ms. Harris, Mr. Thune and Mr. Johnson in presenting three wreaths for display near the casket – one for the Senate, one for the House and one for each. White House.

The casket sits atop Lincoln’s catafalque, a platform built in 1865 for the lying in state of President Abraham Lincoln and which has been used in most of these ceremonies since then.

Members of the Carter family attended the arrival ceremony, along with dozens of House and Senate members, Supreme Court justices and Biden administration officials.

Public access to view Mr. Carter lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda begins at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and ends at midnight, before resuming at 7 a.m. Wednesday and lasting 24 hours until 7 a.m. Thursday.

On Thursday, around 9 a.m., there will be a departure ceremony to transfer Mr. Carter’s body to the Washington National Cathedral for his official state funeral.

Mr. Carter worked as a peanut farmer in Georgia and as a naval officer before entering politics. He served one term as governor of Georgia before running for president in 1976, narrowly defeating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford.

He served a single term in the White House after winning re-election against Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980.