(NewsNation) — The state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter, who died on Sunday at the age of 100, will be held on January 9 at Washington National Cathedral, the White House has announced.
NewsNation confirmed on Monday that President Joe Biden, who addressed the nation on Sunday night after Carter’s passing, is expected to deliver the eulogy at the funeral. More details are expected to be announced soon.
The funeral will take place three days after Carter’s body is flown to Washington from Atlanta, where the former president will lie in repose on Saturday and Sunday at the Carter Center. The Carter Center announced on Sunday that public observances for the 39th president will be held in Atlanta and Washington before private interment will be held in Plains, Georgia.
What is a state funeral?
A state funeral is a national tribute that is traditionally reserved for a head of state, according to the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and the U.S. Military District of Washington.
The United States conducts the funerals on behalf of all people who hold, or who have held, the office of president, president-elect, and other people who have been designated by the president. A state funeral is typically made up of three stages and typically lasts 7-10 days. In former President Carter’s case, however, this week’s New Year’s holiday will delay the start of the process.
Stage 1 of the state funeral takes place in the former president’s state of residence. The New York Times reported that Carter’s body will be taken by motorcade from Plains to Atlanta, which is the site of the Carter Center.
Stage 2 includes ceremonies that are held in Washington before the state funeral culminates with interment.
The Washington ceremonies may involve Armed Forces color guards, elite military bands and other representatives from service academies, the JTR-NCR/USAMDW said. Any services held outside of Washington include Washington-based honor guards and local service units as well as active duty, National Guard and Reserve for logistical, military band or salute guns support.
Who will attend Jimmy Carter’s state funeral?
State funerals are typically expected to be attended by other former presidents, including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The New York Times reported it is not yet known whether President-elect Donald Trump will attend the funeral, which will take place 11 days before Trump’s inauguration.
Former President Jimmy Carter, right, and his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, hold hands as they walk from a state funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the National Cathedral, Dec. 5, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Biden has also declared January 9 as a National Day of Mourning. Biden ordered all flags across the nation to remain at half-staff for the next 30 days. ABC News reported Carter asked Biden in 2023 to deliver his eulogy upon his passing. Biden endorsed Carter as the Democratic nominee for president during his first term as a U.S. senator and was the first member of Congress to do so.
“I think that what Jimmy Carter is an example of is just simple decency,” Biden said about Carter. “And I think that’s what the rest of the world looks to America for.”
NewsNation has confirmed that in addition to Biden speaking at the state funeral, eulogies will also be delivered by Jason Carter, Jimmy Carter’s grandson who is the chairman of the board of the Carter Center. Other eulogies will be delivered by the son of former President Gerald Ford and the son of former Vice President Walter Mondale.
Mondale was Carter’s running mate when Carter defeated Ford in the 1976 presidential election. The national funeral will be the first to be held since former President George H.W. Bush died in 2018.
What will happen before and after the national funeral?
Once Carter’s body arrives in Washington on January 6, the former president will lie in state at the Capitol, where presidents dating back to Abraham Lincoln have been publicly remembered. Thousands of people are expected to pass through the Capitol Rotunda to pay their respects.
The Carter Center issued a statement on Monday saying that the U.S. Congress graciously extended an invitation to allow the former president to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda.
Washington National Cathedral is located just a few miles north of the White House and has been the venue used for several state funerals, ABC News reported. Other former presidents whose service was held at the church have included Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush.
Carter will be returned to Georgia by military flight for burial after the national funeral. The New York Times reported that Carter’s body was initially set to be returned to Georgia by train, but that the former president objected.
“If you take my cold, dead body across the U.S. by train, I’ll haunt you until the day you die,” he told a staffer, according to the report.
Carter is expected to be buried next to his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, who died last year at the age of 96.
The Carter Center family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations are asked to be made to the nonprofit Carter Center, which is located at 453 John Lewis Freedom Parkway, N.E. in Atlanta.
