Jimmy Carter funeral live updates: Biden says late president was 'at peace with a life fully lived'

Photographers from various news services captured striking images of Jimmy Carter's state funeral at Washington National Cathedral from all sorts of unique vantage points.

See the full gallery.

The state funeral has concluded. Up next: Carter's family will accompany the casket to Joint Base Andrews to fly to Georgia for a private service at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains later Thursday afternoon.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that event — which was originally scheduled to begin at 3:45 p.m. local time — has been pushed back to 5 p.m. ET.

Carter will then be buried alongside his wife, Rosalynn, at their home in Plains.

Near the close of the ceremony, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performed a duet, singing John Lennon's "Imagine."

The duo also performed at the 2023 funeral service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter in Atlanta.

President Biden concluded his eulogy with a reflection on Jimmy Carter's enduring character, both as a leader and as a private citizen.

"Throughout his life, he showed what it means to be a practitioner of good works," said Biden, noting that Carter also helped establish a "model post-presidency by making a powerful difference as a private citizen in America."

Biden also shared a memory from his and first lady Jill Biden’s final visit with Carter, describing the former president as "at peace with a life fully lived, a good life, a purpose and meaning of character driven by the power of faith, hope and love."

“To make every minute of our time here on earth count, that’s the definition of a good life," he said. "A life Jimmy Carter lived during his 100 years."

President Biden took to the lectern to deliver his tribute, beginning with a personal reflection on his long-standing connection to the late President Jimmy Carter.

Noting that he was the first Democratic senator to endorse Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign, Biden spoke warmly of their bond, saying, “His friendship taught me the strength of character.”

Jason Carter, another one of Jimmy Carter's grandsons, remembered his grandfather, who he called Pawpaw, not as a former president but as an average grandparent, relating funny anecdotes to laughter from the guests.

Jason said his grandfather would answer the door wearing short-shorts with Crocs, his home filled with fishing trophies on shelves and a kitchen featuring a phone on the wall with a cord "like a museum piece" and a rack for hanging ziplock bags to dry.

Eventually he did get a cellphone, and Jason recalled receiving a call from his grandfather's mobile shortly thereafter.

Jason picked up the phone and said, "Hi, Pawpaw." His grandfather asked, "Who is this?"

"This is Jason," his grandson replied. "You called me!"

"I didn't call you," Carter said. "I'm taking a picture."

Jason also remembered his grandfather as a "climate warrior" who as president pushed for clean energy, wanted to decriminalize marijuana, and deregulated so many industries that he gave America "cheap flights" and craft beer.

"Basically all of those years ago, he was the first millennial," Jason said.

Stuart Eizenstat, who served as Carter’s domestic policy adviser, honored the late president's legacy during his remarks at the funeral.

Eizenstat highlighted Carter's achievements, calling him "the great deregulator" and emphasizing that he was "the first president to make human rights a priority for U.S. foreign policy."

Reflecting on Carter's impact, he added, "He may not be a candidate for Mount Rushmore, but he belongs in the foothills of making the U.S. stronger and the world safer."

A spokesperson for Michelle Obama said the former first lady was unable to attend President Jimmy Carter’s service today, citing scheduling conflicts, according to the New York Times.

In a joint statement shared on Dec. 29, the Obamas paid their respects to Carter.

"President Carter taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service," they wrote. "Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from this remarkable man."

Ted Mondale, son of Vice President Walter Mondale, read the eulogy his father wrote for Jimmy Carter in 2015.

Walter Mondale, Carter's vice president, died in 2021.

In the eulogy, Mondale wrote that toward the end of their lone term in office, he and Carter talked about how they wanted to be remembered.

“We came up with this sentence, which to me remains an important summary of what we were trying to do: ‘We told the truth, we obeyed the law, and we kept the peace,’” Mondale wrote. “That we did, Mr. President.”

Steven Ford, the third son of the late President Gerald Ford, shared a tribute written by his father before he died in 2006.

“God did a good thing when he made your dad,” Ford remarked to Jimmy Carter's children at the podium. While Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter were once fierce opponents during the 1976 presidential campaign, their rivalry softened over the years into an enduring friendship. Ford and Carter promised that they would give eulogies at each other's funerals.

Reflecting on Carter’s integrity, Ford echoed his father’s heartfelt words: “Honesty and truth-telling were synonymous with the name Jimmy Carter.”

Joshua Carter, Jimmy Carter's grandson, shared how his grandfather taught a Sunday school class at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., where hundreds would flock to see the former president teach.

"He loved people," Joshua Carter said, before reading a Bible passage.

Minutes before the funeral began, President-elect Donald Trump gave a handshake to his former Vice President Mike Pence. The two briefly exchanged words. Pence was seated next to former Vice President Al Gore.

According to the New York Times, it's the first in-person encounter between Trump and Pence in four years.

All five members of the so-called presidents club — President Biden, former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump — are now seated inside Washington National Cathedral.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced earlier this week that he will resign as prime minister of Canada and as party leader, is in attendance at the funeral, seated next to Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh.

Among other world leaders attending the funeral is Martín Torrijos, the former president of Panama, per the New York Times.

Former President Jimmy Carter's casket is being carried into the National Cathedral as the funeral begins. There is total silence, all except for the tolling of a bell.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden have arrived at the National Cathedral for Carter's state funeral. Biden will deliver a eulogy at the service, which will be one of the president's last public speaking engagements before he departs the White House on Jan. 20.

State funerals usually have three stages, according to the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region, which is a military unit that oversees such ceremonies. 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.”

Read more from Yahoo News reporter Katie Mather: Jimmy Carter state funeral plans: Biden sets Jan. 9 for national day of mourning, service to be held in Washington

Former President Jimmy Carter started from humble beginnings as a peanut farmer on his family’s farm just outside of his birthplace of Plains, Ga., a place that helped shape his political career and philanthropy work.

Out of all of his accomplishments, Carter said the best thing he ever did was marry fellow Plains native Rosalynn Smith in 1946. Rosalynn Carter died on Nov. 19, 2023, shortly after entering hospice following a dementia diagnosis.

In 2002, Carter became the third president to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his work, both during and after his presidency, in helping to resolve international conflicts, advancing social welfare and campaigning for human rights.

Here’s a look at the former president’s life in photos from Yahoo News: Jimmy Carter dead at 100: A look back at the 39th U.S. president's legacy in photos

Vice President Kamala Harris posted a tribute on X moments before former President Jimmy Carter's funeral was set to begin. Harris delivered a eulogy on Tuesday honoring the 39th U.S. president as he lay in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

In 1982, one year after Jimmy Carter left the White House, he and his wife, Rosalynn, founded the Carter Presidential Center, at Emory University in Atlanta. The purpose of the nonpartisan, not-for-profit center is to “wage peace, fight disease and build hope” in nations around the world.

The center has led the international campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease, establish health care systems in communities across Africa, promote fair elections in 40 countries and help further peace efforts and strengthen standards for international human rights.

Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, the 20th anniversary of the center’s founding, “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.”

For more than three decades, the former president and former first lady were also dedicated advocates and hands-on construction volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit that helps people in need renovate and build homes for themselves.

Former President Jimmy Carter's funeral procession has arrived at the Washington National Cathedral, where the state funeral is set to begin momentarily.

Former President Jimmy Carter's funeral procession has left the U.S. Capitol, where he had lain in state this week. Next is the Washington National Cathedral for a state funeral that begins at 10 a.m. ET.

All five members of the so-called presidents club — current and former commanders in chief — are set to attend Jimmy Carter's funeral.

President Biden, former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump are expected to arrive shortly at Washington National Cathedral.

The last time all living presidents were in the same room together was in 2018, also at Washington National Cathedral, for the state funeral of former President George H. W. Bush. Biden, who will deliver a eulogy for Carter, was also in attendance, though he sat in the second row alongside then current and former vice presidents, including Mike Pence, Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney and Al Gore.

Jimmy Carter served a single term as the 39th U.S. president, which was widely considered to be unsuccessful. A host of major economic problems plagued Americans in the late 1970s and Carter couldn’t tame an increase in gas prices, inflation or rising unemployment.

Carter’s administration was also unable to free 52 Americans who were taken hostage in Iran in late 1979 and held captive for more than a year. But during the final weeks of his presidency, an agreement hammered out by Carter and his administration ultimately led to their freedom. Ronald Reagan is commonly given credit, but had little to do with the release of the Americans in Tehran since the Iranians let them go moments after Reagan was inaugurated.

Read more from Yahoo News: The brilliant life and troubled presidency of Jimmy Carter

Here’s a quick schedule of the events surrounding former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral:

• 9 a.m. ET: Carter's casket will leave the Capitol, where he has been lying in state since Tuesday, and head to Washington National Cathedral in a funeral procession.

• 10 a.m. ET: Carter's state funeral at Washington National Cathedral will begin. President Biden is among those who will deliver a eulogy at the service, which is expected to last a little over an hour.

• 11:15 a.m. ET: After the state funeral ends, Carter's family will accompany the casket to Joint Base Andrews to fly to Georgia.

• 3:45 p.m. ET: Carter's motorcade will arrive at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., for a private service.

• 5:20 p.m. ET: Carter will be buried alongside his wife, Rosalynn, at their home in Plains.

President Biden declared Jan. 9, 2025 as a National Day of Mourning in honor of the late President Jimmy Carter to give people the time and space to pay their respects to the longest living American president.

Flags at every government building across the U.S. are flown at half-staff for 30 days following the death of a former president, which means they will remain at half-staff for Carter until Jan. 28.

All executive departments and agencies within the federal government will also be closed on Thursday, and all federal employees will be given a paid day off.

The New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ will close U.S. markets.

All U.S. Postal Service post offices will be closed and regular mail won’t be delivered, with the exception of “limited package delivery service.”

The National Park Service website says the National parks and visitor services will generally be open on Jan. 9, while the administrative offices will be closed. The agency recommends checking the individual park website before visiting for the most accurate information.

Banks and other businesses aren’t required to close, but it’s a good idea to call ahead or check online just in case.