President Trump, Congressional Leaders Remember Rev. Billy Graham At U.S. Capitol
WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP) — He felt stung by the politics that helped define his life — and resolved to keep a distance. But in death, the Rev. Billy Graham received a rare tribute from the nation's top political leaders under the Capitol Rotunda.
"Here lies America's pastor," said House Speaker Paul Ryan, gesturing to Graham's casket under the eye of the dome, surrounded by family, friends, lawmakers and a ring of paintings of the nation's founders. "He ministered to all walks, from some of the greats whose statues line this hall_Eisenhower, King, Ford, and Reagan_to the everyday citizens lining up today to pay their respects."
President Donald Trump said his father was an admirer of Graham's and that the "legendary" American figure deserved to be recognized in the place "where the memory of the American people is enshrined."
Added Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: "The man we recognize today shared the Gospel with more people, face-to-face, than anyone else in history."
Graham died a week earlier at age 99.
McConnell said Graham inspired countless life-changing conversions with his humility and plainspoken preaching of essential truths, adding Graham "lifted up our nation," but it wasn't because he occupied the spotlight so masterfully. It was because Graham knew he didn't belong in it.
He describes Graham as "just a happy instrument in the hands of his Creator." McConnell says "the Senate - and the nation - are so very grateful for his service."
Some 30 family members accompanied Graham's casket to Washington, where he befriended presidents of both parties and counseled others over seven decades. Graham's son, Franklin, tweeted a photo Wednesday of family members loading the casket onto a jet emblazoned with "Samaritan's Purse," the name of a Christian relief charity that he chairs.
Graham is lying in honor beneath the iconic dome Wednesday, before a funeral Friday near his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Rotunda entrances were draped with black fabric and set up for lawmakers and family members to stand around the casket, ringed by the Rotunda's paintings of the nation's founders. Graham's casket will rest on a black-draped catafalque beneath the soaring ceiling and its painting, the "Apotheosis of Washington."
"If there is any American whose life and life's work deserves to be honored by laying in honor in the U.S. Capitol, it's Billy Graham," Ryan said.
Though he met every president since Harry Truman and counseled most, Graham grew wary of politics after Watergate. He was closest to Richard Nixon but later said he felt used by him.
Nonetheless, Graham ministered to other presidents until his health began to fail about 10 years ago.
Former President Bill Clinton recalled seeing one of Graham's crusades as a child, a profound experience that became more amazing over his life. Graham counseled him as Arkansas governor, and later as president in the White House itself.
"In that little room, he was the same person I saw when I was 11 on that football field," Clinton said Tuesday after viewing the casket at Graham's home.
Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, also visited Graham's home on Tuesday.
In Washington, Ryan said there had been no doubt that Graham would receive the honor of a public viewing in the Rotunda. He told reporters that almost immediately upon hearing of Graham's death he, Trump, McConnell and Rep. Patrick McHenry, who represents the Graham family's district, agreed it would happen.
Graham shares the honor with 11 presidents and other distinguished Americans, starting with Sen. Henry Clay of Kentucky in 1852 and, most recently, Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii in 2012, according to the House and the Architect of the Capitol.
Graham is only the fourth private person to lie in honor since 1998. The others are two U.S. Capitol Police officers who died in the line of duty in 1998 and civil rights hero Rosa Parks in 2005.
Trump met Graham at the pastor's 95th birthday party in 2013, but is closer to Franklin Graham Jr.
On Friday, Trump was to attend Graham's funeral near his library in Charlotte, North Carolina. Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush will not be there, meaning no former presidents will attend that service.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
