Data: Architect of the Capitol; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios
The late Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) became the latest public figure to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, an honor accorded the longest-serving congressman from the current Congress after his death on March 18.
Why it matters: The frequency of public figures lying in state or honor in the Capitol has increased during the past two decades, according to data from the Architect of the Capitol.
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Driving the news: President Biden paid tribute to Young, praying before his flag-draped casket as he lay in repose at the Capitol’s Statuary Hall.
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The president’s service in the Senate overlapped with Young’s in the House. Senior aides Steve Ricchetti and Kurt Campbell joined him.
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Statuary Hall is the same setting where the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was honored.
By the numbers: Since 2000, the number of deceased Americans who have lain in the Capital is 13.
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During the previous two decades, it was four, including two Capitol police officers killed in the line of duty, Sen. Claude D. Pepper (D-Fla.) and an unknown soldier from the Vietnam War.
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In the 1960s and ’70s, Congress honored eight Americans — including four presidents.
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