Bob Dole Lies in State [PHOTOS]

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Bob Dole Lies In State At U.S. Capitol — ANDREW HARNIK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Former U.S. Senator from Kansas and past Senate majority leader Bob Dole died on Dec. 5 at the age of 98. The Elizabeth Dole foundation announced the death of the longtime leader of Senate Republicans, saying in a statement, "It is with heavy hearts we announce that Senator Robert Joseph Dole died early this morning in his sleep. At his death, at age 98, he had served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years."

After lying in state at the United States Capitol on Thursday, Dole's funeral will be held on Friday at the Washington National Cathedral. On Thursday, prominent politicians paid their respects to the former senator.

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Bob Dole Funeral — JABIN BOTSFORD/POOL/AFP via Getty

Dole is survived by his wife, former senator Elizabeth Dole, whom he married in 1975. Pictured: Dole touches the casket of her late husband.

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Dole is also survived by his daughter, Robin Dole, whom he shared with his first wife, Phyllis Holden.

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President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were present to pay their respects, with President Biden speaking of Dole as a man of "wit and grace, principle and persistence, of courage and conviction," and calling him his "great friend" and "one of our greatest patriots."

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Biden then read a statement Dole wrote before his death, quoting the late politician, "I cannot pretend that I have not been a loyal champion for my party, but I always served my country best when I did so first and foremost as an American."

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Biden concluded his speech by saying, "My fellow Americans, America has lost one of our greatest patriots. We may follow this wisdom, I hope, and his timeless truth that the truth of the matter is as divided as we are, the only way forward for democracy is unity, consensus, the only way. May we follow this wisdom and his timeless truth and reach consensus and the basic fundamental principles we all agree on."

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Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff were present to pay their respects to the two-time Purple Heart recipient.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also spoke of the three-time Senate Majority Leader, saying of Dole, "His roots ran deep, but he was always looking to new horizons."

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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called Dole an "extraordinary patriot," saying that it was "hard to think of anyone who was more worthy to have the flag draped over his coffin because of his great patriotism to our country."

She also praised the way the late World Word II veteran worked in a "bipartisan way."

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in his remarks, "Today we pay tribute to a remarkable leader over the course of his life knew more than his fair share of suffering, who turned that suffering into endurance, whose endurance became central to his character and whose character whose essential goodness leaves us with hope. Hope that we will continue to see good men and women in this country like the one to whom we say goodbye today."

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