John Lewis

When asked in an interview whether he found the late civil rights icon impressive, Trump claims to have done more for Black Americans than anybody else.

"He, as much as anyone in our history, brought this country a little bit closer to our highest ideals," former President Barack Obama said of the longtime congressman and civil rights legend.

"Naming it the John Lewis Voting Rights Act — that is a fine tribute," former President Barack Obama said. "But John wouldn't want us to stop there."

The late Georgia congressman's body lies in state in the Capitol Rotunda. The public viewing for the "conscience of the Congress" is being held outside through Tuesday amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In 1965, John Lewis was nearly killed as he led a group of protesters across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to protest racial discrimination in voting. On Sunday, his body crossed that bridge one last time.

The late Georgia congressman was celebrated Saturday morning at "The Boy From Troy" memorial service in his Alabama hometown. "It's up to us to keep his legacy alive," his great-nephew told mourners.

Visitors will file by the the Capitol and be required to wear masks because of the coronavirus. Lewis' family urges people outside of Washington, D.C., to pay tribute virtually.

State Democratic officials vote overwhelmingly for Williams on Monday. Lewis had represented the majority-Black and Democratic district, which includes Atlanta, since 1987.

Proposed ideas include renaming the Edmund Pettus Bridge in honor of the late congressman and passing expanded voting rights legislation in his name.

The longtime Georgia congressman died Friday of pancreatic cancer. Lewis, who devoted his life to activism and the civil rights movement, was known as "the conscience of the Congress."

Lawmakers from across the political spectrum remembered Rep. John Lewis as a man who embodied the best of American ideals and a stalwart champion for civil rights.

As a teenager growing up in Alabama, Lewis wrote a letter to Martin Luther King Jr. during a budding civil rights movement. In a letter back, King invited the 18-year-old to join the cause.