Jimmy Carter state funeral plans: Biden sets Jan. 9 for national day of mourning, service to be held in Washington
Memorial services for former President Jimmy Carter — who died on Sunday at the age of 100 — are planned to span several days in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.
President Biden announced that Thursday, Jan. 9, will be a national day of mourning for Carter, who will be buried next to his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died in Nov. 2023, in a private ceremony in his hometown of Plains, Ga. Federal government executive departments and agencies will be closed on Jan. 9 in honor of Carter as well.
“With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless and always advocate for the least among us. He saved, lifted and changed the lives of people all across the globe,” Biden said of Carter, the longest-lived U.S. president, on Sunday.
Carter’s state funeral is scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 9. In honor of Carter, Biden ordered the flags at every government building across the country to be flown at half-staff for the next 30 days.
What is a state funeral?
After a former president dies, the current president works with the Defense Department to plan a state funeral that typically lasts seven to 10 days and is open for U.S. residents to participate in or watch.
State funerals usually have three stages, according to the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region (JTF-NCR), which is a military unit that plans, supports and executes military support within the U.S. capital region and oversees state funerals. These stages include ceremonies in the state where the former president lived, in Washington, D.C., and in the state where the former president has said they want to be buried.
State funerals aren’t limited to former presidents. Rather, they are planned “on behalf of all persons who hold, or have held, the office of president as well as a president-elect and other persons designated by the president.”
The last former president to die was George H.W. Bush in 2018. His state funeral was held at the Washington National Cathedral, where over 3,000 political leaders and family members congregated. Carter was in attendance, along with former presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and then-President Donald Trump.
What we know so far about state funeral plans for Jimmy Carter
The first stage of state funerals is a ceremony held where the former president lived. Carter is first expected to lie in repose on Jan. 4 and 5 at the Carter Center, a humanitarian organization in Atlanta that was founded by the Carters.
On Jan. 6, he will be transported to Washington, D.C., for the second stage of the state funeral. He is expected to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda so people can walk in and pay their respects. The first president to lie in state at the Capitol was Abraham Lincoln in 1865, and the most recent was Bush in 2018.
On Jan. 9, Carter’s state funeral will be held at the Washington National Cathedral. In 2023, while Carter was in hospice care, Biden said the former president had asked him to give a eulogy at his funeral.
Finally, Carter will be returned to Georgia for a private ceremony in Plains, where he will be buried next to his wife.
Who is expected to attend Carter’s funeral in Washington, D.C.?
World leaders and former presidents are expected to attend Carter’s funeral services. In 2018, former presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump, along with their spouses, all attended Bush’s funeral ceremony in Washington.
Biden orders flags flown at half-staff
Biden has announced that flags will be flown at half-staff in honor of Carter through most of January, including on Jan. 20, when President-elect Trump will be inaugurated.
Trump said in a Dec. 29 statement on Truth Social that while he “strongly disagreed” with Carter “philosophically and politically… he worked hard to make America a better place, and for that I give him my highest respect.”
