LOUISVILLE, KY — U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued the following statement regarding the death of the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter:
“Elaine and I join the Senate and the nation in mourning the passing of our 39th president, Jimmy Carter.
“President Carter lived a truly American dream. A devoutly religious peanut farmer from small-town Georgia volunteered to serve his country in uniform. He found himself manning cutting-edge submarines hundreds of feet beneath the ocean. He returned home and saved the family farm before feeling drawn to a different sort of public service. And less than 15 years after his first campaign for the state Senate, his fellow Americans elected him leader of the free world.
“Jimmy Carter’s character and commitment, just like his crops, were fruits of all-American soil. After every season when life led him to lofty service far from home, he came back home again, determined to plow his unique experiences and influence into helping others; into building and teaching and volunteering; into further enriching the same rich soil that had made his own life possible.
“President Carter served during times of tension and uncertainty, both at home and abroad. But his calm spirit and deep faith seemed unshakeable. Jimmy Carter served as our commander-in-chief for four years, but he served as the beloved, unassuming Sunday school teacher at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia for forty. And his humble devotion leaves us little doubt which of those two important roles he prized the most.
“As Jimmy Carter is reunited with his beloved Rosalynn, our thoughts and prayers are with their children, Jack, Chip, Jeff, and Amy, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and the millions of Americans whose lives were touched by his service. We join them in mourning, but also in celebrating that Jimmy Carter is now reaping an eternal harvest in Heaven.”
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