On Tuesday, January 7, Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a eulogy honoring former President Jimmy Carter, celebrating his profound legacy and enduring contributions, just two months after receiving his vote in the 2024 presidential election.
“I was in middle school when Jimmy Carter was elected president, and I vividly recall how my mother admired him,” Harris, 60, said. “How much she admired his strength of character, his honesty, his integrity, his work ethic and determination, his intelligence and his generosity of spirit.”
The vice president remarked, “We have heard much today and in recent days about President Carter’s influence over the four decades since leaving the White House. Jimmy Carter redefined what it means to be a former president, leaving behind an extraordinary post-presidential legacy.”
Harris highlighted Carter’s numerous achievements through The Carter Center and praised him as a president “ahead of his time.” She pointed to his development of a comprehensive energy policy, environmental protection efforts, expansion of national parks, and the creation of the Department of Education, which now faces potential dismantling under President-elect Donald Trump.
Harris also recognized the strides Carter made in promoting diversity within the federal government.
“He was a president who, between the years of 1977 and 1981, appointed more Black Americans to the federal bench than all of his predecessors combined, and appointed five times as many women,” she noted. “And in the wake of Watergate, Jimmy Carter passed historic ethics legislation to help rebuild Americans’ faith in government.”
About President Jimmy Carter:
Jimmy Carter served as president from January 20, 1977, to January 20, 1981. His administration achieved significant milestones in foreign policy, including the Panama Canal treaties, the Camp David Accords, a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the SALT II agreement with the Soviet Union, and the establishment of formal diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. Carter was a steadfast advocate for human rights worldwide.
On the domestic front, his administration introduced a comprehensive energy program led by the newly established Department of Energy. It also enacted deregulation in energy, transportation, communications, and finance sectors. Under the newly created Department of Education, major educational initiatives were launched, alongside landmark environmental legislation like the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which doubled the size of the national park system and tripled designated wilderness areas.
