Former President Carter is being honored at the Capitol, where he will lie in state until his funeral on Thursday morning at the National Cathedral.
Senators, Supreme Court justices and other officials are gathered in the Capitol’s rotunda. Vice President Harris, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) are expected make addresses in farewell speeches to Carter.
Earlier Tuesday, President-elect Trump answered a plethora of questions from reporters in Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, where he also announced a major investment in data centers in the Sun Belt and addressed his strategy in musing over takeovers of the Panama Canal and Greenland a day after his election was certified in Congress.
Trump’s remarks came as some of his legal cases were also making waves, including when U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon temporarily blocked the Justice Department from releasing special counsel Jack Smith’s report on his two prosecutions, granting a request from his legal team. A hearing involving his team’s request to block his Jan. 10 sentencing in his hush money case in New York was also underway early Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile in Congress, the House passed the Laken Riley Act. In the Senate, Trump’s intelligence director nominee, Tulsi Gabbard, met with senators.
Follow along all day for developments on these stories and more.
Johnson, Jeffries at Carter memorial
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) walk side-by-side to honor former President Jimmy Carter during a memorial service at the Capitol. Greg Nash/The Hill
Thune, Schumer honor Carter
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer honor former President Jimmy Carter during a memorial service at the Capitol. Greg Nash/The Hill
Harris, Emhoff honor Carter
Vice President Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff salute the late President Jimmy Carter during a memorial in the Capitol rotunda. Greg Nash/The Hill
Harris honors Carter’s modesty
Harris called Carter an “all too rare example of a gifted man who also walks with humility, modesty and grace.”
She recalled that Carter would sleep in the homes of his supporters on his presidential run to share a meal with his them. And, she said that on his first trip with Habitat for Humanity, he and Rosalynn Carter shared a bus and gave away their private room to another volunteer couple to sleep on the floor of a church basement.
“Throughout his life and career, Jimmy Carter retained a fundamental decency and humility. James Earl Carter, Jr., loved our country. He lived his faith, he served the people and he left the world better than he found it. And in the end, Jimmy Carter’s work and those works speak for him louder than any tribute we can offer,” she said.
She called for his life to be a “lesson for the ages” and a “beacon for the future.”
Harris honors Carter; Middle East strategy
Harris in her address called Carter ahead of his time, saying he was the first to have “a comprehensive energy policy” and that he also passed over a dozen major pieces of legislation regarding environmental protection.
She also lauded his more than doubling the size of America’s national parks and highlighted that Carter was behind protecting the Redwoods in California in her home state.
She said in four years in office, Carter appointed more Black Americans to the federal bench than all of his predecessors combined and appointed five times as many women. And, she noted that he passed post-Watergate Ethics legislation.
On the international stage, she said he had instituted full diplomatic relations with China and he helped establish peace between Israel and Egypt. She also noted that he secured the Camp David Accords, calling them one of “the most significant and durable peace treaties since World War II.”
“Jimmy Carter was a forward looking president with a vision for the future,” Harris said, noting that he established the Department of Energy, FEMA and the Department of Education.
Johnson honored Carter for his “humble” post-presidency
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) praised Carter for spending one week every year in his post-presidency to build and restore homes with Habitat for Humanity.
“It’s remarkable to think that one of the 45 men who have served as president and one of the only 13 who held the role in the nuclear age would humble himself to such service,” he said.
Carter honored at Capitol
Carter is honored in the Capitol rotunda surrounded by the vice president, congressional lawmakers and his family. Greg Nash/The Hill
Thune says Carter’s ‘style’ was to get his hands dirty to help others
Greg Nash/The Hill
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) honored Carter’s life post-presidency, which he said was “focused on making the lives of his fellow man better.”
Thune talked about Carter’s work for Habitat for Humanity, describing that his name attached to the organization helped it gain attention but he also got his hands dirty with its volunteers.
“But simply lending his name or maybe attending a gala or two wasn’t Jimmy Carter’s style. He was here to get down in the weeds and the dirt and he did that literally on numerous Habitat builds,” he said.
Thune honored Carter as a Navy veteran, peanut farmer, governor, president, Sunday school teacher, Nobel Prize winner, advocate as a “faithful servant of his creator.”
Carter to lie in state in rotunda
The casket of former President Jimmy Carter arrives in the Capitol rotunda, where he will lie in state until Thursday. Greg Nash/The Hill
Casket arrives at Capitol rotunda
Greg Nash/The Hill
Carter’s casket has arrived inside the Capitol rotunda just after 5 p.m., with officials and lawmakers standing for the service.
Vice President Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff stood next to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who had Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on the other side of him.
Carter will lie in state at the Capitol until Thursday morning when his funeral will be held at the National Cathedral.
Supreme Court justices attend ceremony
Chief Justice John Roberts and associate Justices Elena Kagan and Brett Kavanaugh are among those gathered in the Rotunda to pay tribute to Carter. Greg Nash/The Hill
Senators gather in Rotunda
Georgia Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock, at right, and Jon Ossoff, next to him, led a procession from the Senate into the Rotunda. They now await Carter’s casket for a ceremony to begin. Greg Nash/The Hill
Carter family, casket arrive at Capitol
The Carter family, who had walked along the processional route with the former president’s casket, has entered the Capitol ahead of a ceremony in the Rotunda.
A military honor guard is now preparing to bring the casket into the Rotunda.
Carter’s casket proceeds toward Capitol
Former President Carter’s casket, carried by caisson and accompanied by military service members from each branch, is on its way to the Capitol.
There, Vice President Harris will eulogize Carter, and congerssional leaders will honor him.
Presser concludes
Trump’s press conference concluded roughly an hour after it began at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump fielded a smattering of questions from reporters on matters related to Panama, Greenland, hostages in Gaza, Russia President Vladimir Putin and the Ukraine war as well as the economy.
The press conference came less than two weeks before Trump is sworn-in on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.
Trump: Meta changes probably a response to his threats
Trump, answering one of the final questions from a reporter, said an announcement from Meta earlier Tuesday regarding changes to its fact-checking policies was “probably” in response to his previous threats against the company and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg.
“Probably. Yeah, probably,” Trump said when asked if the change was a direct response to his past threats.
“I think they’ve come a long way,” Trump said of Meta.
Trump promises prices will go down
Trump said that while it will be hard to bring down prices, there will be “drastic” price reductions under his administration.
A reporter asked Trump what the American people can expect when he takes office after he vowed to bring down prices quickly, but then referenced his comment to Time Magazine last month where he said “it’s hard to bring things down.”
“It’s always hard to bring down prices when somebody else has screwed up something up like they did,” Trump said, referring to the Biden administration. “But we’ll bring them down, we’ll get them down. Energy is going to bring down prices. … Energy and their bad spending is what brought it up, and energy is going to bring it down.”
“I think you’re going to see some very drastic price reductions,” he said, adding that the price of goods such as bacon, ham and apples have increased.
While he said high prices is one of the reasons why he thinks he won the 2024 election, he said the main reason was due to the Biden administration’s policies on the southern border.
Trump has no regrets for harsh words about Jimmy Carter
In response to a question about whether he regretted having harsh words for the late Jimmy Carter as he was being prepared to lie in state, Trump said he had none.
“No. Look, I liked him as a man. I disagreed with his policy. So, he thought giving away the Panama Canal was a good thing. I think it cost him the election. That and the hostages,” Trump said at his press conference.
“I didn’t want to bring up the Panama Canal because of Jimmy Carter’s death … but you and other people have asked me about it,” Trump told reporters.
The funeral events for Carter shifted on Tuesday from his home state of Georgia, where he had been lying in repose, to the Capitol, where he will lie in state. Carter, the 39th president, died last month at the age of 100.
In a post after Carter’s death, Trump said he “strongly disagreed” with Carter “philosophically and politically,” but recognized that the former president “truly loved and respected our Country and all it stands for.”
Trump: No military force to acquire Canada
Trump said he was not considering using military force to make Canada part of the United States after repeatedly musing about the idea of the country becoming the 51st state.
Instead, Trump said he intended to use “economic force” against the neighbor to the north.
“Because Canada and the United States, that would really be something. You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be better for national security,” Trump said.
Greene says ‘Gulf of America’ bill coming soon
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said she would quickly introduce a bill renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America shortly after President-elect Trump floated the idea.
“President Trump’s second term is off to a GREAT start,” she wrote on the social platform X. “I’ll be introducing legislation ASAP to officially change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to its rightful name, the Gulf of America!”
Middle East envoy hopeful Gaza hostage deal achieved before inauguration
Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East said there’s a lot of progress on efforts to release about 100 hostages kidnapped from Israel by Hamas and held in the Gaza Strip, saying he’s hopeful a deal is achieved ahead of the inauguration.
Steve Witkoff, making a surprise appearance at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago press conference, said he had returned from discussions in Doha, Qatar, regarding the hostage release deal.
“I believe we’ve been on the verge of it. I don’t want to discuss sort of what’s delayed it,” he said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier said he hoped the Biden administration could conclude a hostage release and ceasefire deal before the end of President Biden’s term in office.
Trump promises ‘major’ pardons for Jan. 6 defendants
Trump told reporters he would sign “major pardons” for those charged with crimes connected to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, even as he floated debunked claims that the FBI was involved that day.
“We’ll be looking at the whole thing, but I’ll be making major pardons, yes,” Trump said.
Trump won’t commit to not using military to obtain Panama Canal
Trump, in response to the first question from a reporter Tuesday, said he couldn’t promise not to use military or economic force to control Greenland and the Panama Canal.
“I can’t assure you. You’re talking about Panama and Greenland. No, I can’t assure you on either of those two. But I can say this: We need them for economic security,” Trump said.
Pressed on a strategy, Trump said he’s “not going to commit to that now.”
“It might be that you’ll have to do something. Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country. It’s being operated by China,” Trump said.
NY appeals court to hold hearing on Trump’s bid to block sentencing
A New York appeals court will hear oral arguments early Tuesday afternoon on Trump’s bid to block his Friday sentencing on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records ahead of his inauguration.
The hearing comes on the heels of Trump delivering remarks to reporters from Mar-a-Lago in which he’s addressed a number of issues facing his incoming administration.
Trump’s attorneys formally asked the Appellate Division, First Department for emergency relief after Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the trial proceedings, declined to block the sentencing.
The appeals court will hold arguments at 12:30 p.m. EST on Trump’s effort, according to a person with knowledge of the case.
Trump knocks Biden, Harris: ‘I had to beat two people’
Trump at one point boasted of beating both Biden and Vice President Harris in the 2024 election.
Amid talk of the China’s influence over the Panama Canal, Trump dipped into a sidebar to say Biden “should never have been allowed, even, to run for president.”
“Of course, she shouldn’t have either,” Trump said, making reference to Harris.
“I had to beat two people, not one.”
Trump says he’ll rename Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’
Trump told reporters he planned to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” as he bemoaned that Mexico was taking advantage of the United States on trade and immigration.
“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. What a beautiful name,” Trump said. “And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate. And Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country.”
Trump criticizes Jimmy Carter over Panama Canal
Trump argued during his remarks that China is running the Panama Canal, after vowing last month to take over the canal that Panama controls and that the U.S. once did.
China has invested heavily in Panama, including in a number of construction deals, and manages two of Panama’s five main ports.
Trump also called the Panama Canal “a disgrace” and railed against former President Carter, who died less than two weeks ago, for giving it to them “for $1.”
The Carter administration negotiated a treaty that eventually gave Panama control of the canal.
“It would be the equivalent of substantially over a trillion dollars today,” he said.
“We gave it away for $1, but the deal was they have to treat us fairly,” he said, arguing that the U.S. gets charged more than other people. “They laugh at us because they think we’re stupid. But we’re not stupid anymore.”
Trump praises ‘brilliant’ Judge Aileen Cannon
Trump offered praise for Judge Aileen Cannon, whom he nominated to the federal bench, and who oversaw the classified documents case brought against him. The comments came after his legal team asked Cannon to block the release of a report from special counsel Jack Smith.
“I don’t know the judge in Florida, but we had a brilliant judge in Florida who saw right through it,” Trump said of Cannon’s decision to dismiss Smith’s case against Trump for his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House.
Trump went on to call her a “brilliant judge who showed great courage.”
Trump rails against Biden’s environmental moves
Trump went on an extended rant against Biden over his recent move to block new drilling off the entire East Coast, swaths of the West Coast, as well as a federal rule to phase out certain gas-powered water heaters.
The president-elect spent a large portion of his opening remarks to reporters complaining about those environmental-minded moves and vowing to reverse them.
“We’re a party of common sense, and things that I’m telling you now is really all about common sense,” Trump said.
Trump claims transition with Biden ‘not smooth’
Trump spent part of his remarks railing against President Biden, claiming the transition has not been “smooth” a day after he posted on Truth Social calling out the president for “doing everything possible” to make the transition difficult.
Trump said Biden’s restrictions on offshore drilling “will not stand” and vowed to “reverse it immediately,” adding that the administration is giving money “anyone who wants it, for any project.”
“They told me they’re going to do everything possible to make this transition to the new administration very smooth, it’s not smooth because they’re doing that, they’re playing with the courts,” Trump said.
Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, however, has said she has had a very smooth transition with her predecessor.
The White House has insisted it is providing a smooth transition for the incoming administration.