Trump pays his respects to Jimmy Carter on Capitol Hill, meets with Republican lawmakers

The casket of Jimmy Carter arrived to the Capitol this week, and the former president now lies in state for mourners, supporters and political leaders to pay their respects. Among those who visited the casket were Kamala Harris, Mike Johnson and Donald Trump, who came alongside Melania Trump to pay tribute to the former Democratic president, who died Dec. 29 at age 100.

President-elect Trump was greeted Wednesday night by the speaker of the House of Representatives. Minutes later, he appeared with his wife to pay his respects before Carter's casket, which is wrapped in an American flag.

Trump and Melania walked slowly to the casket and stood in silence for at least a minute, then quietly left the room. Both are expected to take part in the funeral to be held Thursday at the Washington National Cathedral, which will also be attended by Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, among others.

Following the news of the passing of the former Georgia governor and president, Trump expressed his sympathy on his Truth Social account.

"The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude. Melania and I are thinking warmly of the Carter Family and their loved ones during this difficult time. We urge everyone to keep them in their hearts and prayers," he wrote.

In recent days, he heaped equal parts of praise and criticism after repeatedly referring to the Torrijos-Carter treaty signed during his tenure, which guaranteed that Panama would gain control of the Panama Canal after Dec. 31, 1999.

"I liked him as a man. I didn't agree with his policies. He thought giving away the Panama Canal was a good thing," Trump noted.

The president-elect used his visit to Capitol Hill to meet with Republican senators, who are already negotiating Democratic support to pass the Laken Riley Act, which has already passed the House with 48 Democrats joining all Republicans in the process.

Republicans hold a 53-member majority in the Senate, so they will need to convince at least seven Democratic colleagues to break the filibuster with 60 votes in favor. So far, five Democratic senators have already said that they will vote in favor: John Fetterman, Gary Peters, Ruben Gallego, Jacky Rosen and Mark Kelly.