Ex-Sen. Bob Dole lies in state in Capitol Rotunda by Congress leaders, Biden – live updates
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Remembrances for former Sen. Bob Dole start Thursday at the U.S. Capitol – his workplace for decades – where he will lie in state.
President Joe Biden will join Dole's widow, former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, and daughter, Robin, along with congressional leaders at a private ceremony at 10 a.m. in the Rotunda.
Dole was a decorated World War II veteran and Kansas Republican lawmaker who, until 2018, had been the Senate’s longest-serving Republican leader, a post he held for nearly 11 years. He was also the party's presidential nominee in 1996.
Dole's casket will arrive at the Capitol just before the ceremony and will remain for 24 hours. The Capitol will not be open for public viewing.
The Capitol Rotunda has served for nearly 170 years as a place to honor Americans who have served the country in one capacity or another. Presidents, officials, judges, military leaders and other "distinguished citizens" have lain in state or in honor in the space, according to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Dole's contemporaries in the Senate, John McCain and Daniel Inouye, were honored similarly in the last decade.
Appreciation: A belief in hard work, an aversion to big talk and Kansas roots he never lost: Bob Dole's abiding legacy
Dole arrives at Capitol to lie in state
Honor guard members carrying the flag-draped casket of former Sen. Bob Dole ascended the Capitol steps on Thursday as the former Republican leader and one-time presidential candidate was to lie in state.
Dole died Sunday at age 98. In February, he announced he had lung cancer.
Dole will lie in state until 8 p.m. Thursday after a private ceremony on Thursday morning. Funeral services are scheduled for Friday.
– Rick Rouan
Memorial service, public event on Friday
On Friday, Dole will be remembered in both private and public events in Washington.
A private memorial service takes place at 11 a.m. at Washington National Cathedral. Biden, former Sens. Pat Roberts and Tom Daschle, and Robin Dole will give tributes, and Lee Greenwood will perform. The event will be streamed online here. The public also will be able to watch the livestream of the service at the National World War II Memorial on the National Mall.
Following the church service, around 1:15 p.m., Dole's motorcade and casket will drive to the memorial and stop there to honor Dole's life and military service.
A public event will take place at the memorial, which also is part of Dole's legacy, as he was national chairman in its fundraising effort. The event will be streamed on Facebook Live.
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will give remarks, along with friends of the Dole family, actor Tom Hanks and Savannah Guthrie of NBC News. Elizabeth Dole will lay a wreath at the memorial.
Memorials will shift to Dole's home state of Kansas on Saturday. His body will then return to Washington. Burial details have not been announced.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bob Dole honored with service in US Capitol Rotunda
