The Bidens, Pences, lawmakers pay their final respects as John Lewis lies in state at U.S. Capitol

Joe Biden pays his final respects to John Lewis
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/AP)

The late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) was honored in the U.S. Capitol on Monday, lying in state in a flag-draped coffin under the dome of the Capitol Rotunda as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and others commented on his legacy. Earlier in the day, the hearse carrying Lewis passed by the Lincoln Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, and Black Lives Matter Plaza, the site of his final public appearance before dying from cancer July 17.

Pelosi ceremonially handed the floor to Lewis, and a recording of a speech he gave at Emory University in 2014 echoed in the Rotunda, his voice urging graduating seniors to "get in the way" and get in "good trouble, necessary trouble." The lawmakers gave him a standing ovation.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.