Members of the House of Representatives Lying in State in the U.S. Capitol

Members of the House of Representatives Lying in State in the U.S. Capitol

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INSIGHTi

Members of the House of Representatives
Lying in State in the U.S. Capitol
Updated March 24, 2022
On March 29, 2022, Representative Donald E. Young, who died on March 18, 2022, will lie in state at the
U.S. Capitol. In a press release, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that Representative Young “will
lie in state in National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol on Tuesday, March 29.”
There have been 37 individuals (not including Representative
Lying in State v. Honor
Young) who have lain in state or honor in the Capitol
Lying in State
Rotunda or National Statuary Hall. The most recent
Current or former government officials (e.g.,
individual to lie in state was Senator Harry M. Reid on
Member of Congress, President, Vice
January 12, 2022. The most recent individual to lie in honor
President); military leaders; unknown
was United States Capitol Police Officer William “Billy” F.
servicemembers from World War I, World
Evans on April 13, 2021. Prior to Representative Young lying
War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era.
in state, a total of 18 individuals who had been a Member of

the House of Representatives had received that honor (see
Lying in Honor
Table 1).
Private Citizens
Figure 1 shows Representative Thaddeus Stevens, the first Representative who did not also serve in
another governmental position, lying in state from August 13 to 14, 1868.
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Figure 1. Lying in State of Representative Thaddeus Stevens
August 13-14, 1868

Source: U.S. Congress, Architect of the Capitol, “Funeral of Thaddeus Stevens in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda,” Lying in State
or Honor, at https://www.aoc.gov/nations-stage/lying-state-honor.
Since President Abraham Lincoln’s death in 1865, the caskets of most individuals who have lain in state
or honor have rested on the Lincoln catafalque. The Lincoln catafalque is a platform constructed in 1865
“to support the casket of Abraham Lincoln while the president’s body lay in state in the U.S. Capitol
Rotunda.”
Authorization Process
The House of Representatives and the Senate jointly control the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. As a shared space,
the use of the Rotunda often involves a concurrent resolution, agreed to by both the House and Senate, to
authorize an individual lying in state or honor. For example, the House and Senate agreed to two
concurrent resolutions (S.Con.Res. 25 and S.Con.Res. 26, 117th Congress) to authorize Senator Reid’s
lying in state and the use of the Lincoln catafalque.
In some cases, the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader of the Senate jointly agree to allow an
individual to lie in state. In recent years, this has occurred in one instance when Congress was not in
session: in December 2006, for President Gerald Ford. In October 2019, Representative Cummings lay in

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state in National Statuary Hall, a space controlled by the House of Representatives that does not require a
concurrent resolution for use. Representative Young will lie in state in National Statuary Hall.
When an individual lies in state or honor in the Rotunda or National Statuary Hall, the Architect of the
Capitol and the U.S. Capitol Police may issue special instructions about public access to the Capitol,
public viewing hours, and other protocols.
Representatives Lying in State
To date, 18 former Members of the House of Representatives have lain in state in the U.S. Capitol, not
including Representative Young. Speaker of the House Henry Clay, who also served as a Senator and
Secretary of State, was the first Representative to lie in state (July 1, 1852). The most recent former
Representative to lie in state, prior to Representative Young, was Senator Reid.
To date, three Members of the House who did not also serve in another federal governmental position
have lain in state. They were Representative Thaddeus Stevens (August 13-14, 1868), Representative
Elijah Cummings (October 24, 2019), and Representative John Lewis (July 27 and July 28, 2020). Table
1 lists the Representatives who have lain in state.
Table 1. Representatives Who Have Lain in State
(not all individuals were sitting Representatives at the time of their death)
Representative
Date of Death
Date of Lying in State
Other Positions
Henry Clay (Kentucky)
June 29, 1852
July 1, 1852
Speaker of the House,
Senator, Secretary of State
Abraham Lincoln (Illinois)
April 15, 1865
April 19-21, 1865
President
Thaddeus Stevens
August 11, 1868
August 13-14, 1868
—
(Pennsylvania)
James Garfield (Ohio)
September 19, 1881
September 21-23, 1881
President
John Logan (Illinois)
December 26, 1886
December 30-31, 1886
Senator
Wil iam McKinley (Ohio)
September 14, 1901
September 17, 1901
President, Governor
John F. Kennedy
November 22, 1963
November 24-25, 1963
Senator, President
(Massachusetts)
Everett Dirksen (Illinois)
September 7, 1969
September 9-10, 1969
Senator
Lyndon Baines Johnson
January 22, 1973
January 24-25, 1973
Senator, Vice President,
(Texas)
President
Claude Pepper (Florida)
May 30, 1989
June 1-2, 1989
Senator
Gerald Ford (Michigan)
December 26, 2006
December 30, 2006-January
Vice President, President
2, 2007
Daniel Inouye (Hawaii)
December 17, 2012
December 20, 2012
Senator
John McCain (Arizona)
August 25, 2018
August 31, 2018
Senator
George H. W. Bush (Texas)
November 30, 2018
December 3-5, 2018
Vice President, President
Elijah Cummings (Maryland)
October 17, 2019
October 24, 2019
—
John Lewis (Georgia)
July 17, 2020
July 27-28, 2020
—
Robert J. Dole (Kansas)
December 5, 2021
December 9, 2021
Senator

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Harry M. Reid (Nevada)
December 28, 2021
January 12, 2022
Senator
Donald E. Young (Alaska)
March 18, 2022
March 29, 2022
—
Source: Compiled by CRS from U.S. Congress, Architect of the Capitol, “Those Who Have Lain in State or in Honor in
the Rotunda,” October 2018, at https://www.aoc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/basic-page/us-capitol-lain-state-honor-
2019-01.pdf; and U.S. Congress, House, Office of the Historian, “Individuals Who Have Lain in State or in Honor,” at
https://history.house.gov/Institution/Lie-In-State/Lie-In-State-Honor/.

Author Information

Jacob R. Straus

Specialist on the Congress

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
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IN11472 · VERSION 6 · UPDATED