George H.W. Bush makes final landing in Washington

President George H.W. Bush is making one final trip to the nation’s capital.

Arriving from Houston in “Special Air Mission 41,” a presidential aircraft that was temporarily renamed to honor the 41st president, the president was greeted by “Hail to the Chief” and a 21-gun salute, in addition to his children Jeb, Marvin and Dorothy Bush. Bush’s two other sons, Neil and former president George W. Bush, flew on the presidential aircraft from Houston.

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Bush’s casket will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol until Wednesday, making him the 31st person to hold that honor. An arrival ceremony will be held Monday by members of Congress at 4:45 p.m. ET after his casket lands at Joint Base Andrews.

The former president, 94, died late Friday night. Bush served as Ronald Reagan’s vice president for two terms before being elected president in 1988, navigating the United States through the end of the Cold War and overseeing Operation Desert Storm, which chased Saddam Hussein from Kuwait.

President Donald Trump declared Wednesday a federal holiday and a national day of mourning. A public service for Bush will be held at the National Cathedral on Wednesday, and is expected to draw a number of dignitaries from across the political spectrum.

Trump said in a tweet Monday, as Bush’s casket was preparing to leave Houston, “Looking forward to being with the Bush Family to pay my respects to President George H.W. Bush.”

With an American flag draped over it, Bush’s casket departed Houston at noon ET. Members of the late-president’s secret service Bush Protective Division served as honorary pallbearers in Houston.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Monday said that the late president was “committed” to the U.S. as a young man and remained the same way for the rest of his life. Bush joined the military at 18 and was one of the youngest pilots in the Navy at the time, serving as a Naval aviator during World War II.

“[As] a young man, he proved his valor in the toughest circumstances,” Mattis said outside the Pentagon. “For the rest of his life he was the same kind of public servant, committed to us all.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, while speaking on the Senate floor on Monday afternoon, said that the former president was “a warrior for hope, optimism, and opportunity.”

“A quarter century after George Bush left the Oval Office, his legacy continues to directly inspire not just a thousand points of life, but millions of volunteers who serve others,” McConnell said. “We are thankful that God gave this country George Bush and Barbara. Thankful that they built such a loving family and thankful they may now be reunited, their great love story perfected in the light of his grace.”

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be traveling to Washington to pay respects to Bush and his family, postponing a trip to Houston that the two were going to make this week as part of a joint speaking tour.

Bush spokesman Jim McGrath wrote on Twitter that Bush “will be carried to his final rest wearing socks that pay tribute to his lifetime of service, starting as an 18 year-old naval aviator in war.”

“That legacy is now being carried, in part, by the brave, selfless men and women aboard,” McGrath wrote in a tweet that included an image of gray socks that show planes flying in formation.

After Bush’s casket is returned to Houston on Wednesday, he will lie in repose at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church. A private funeral service will be held there on Thursday. Bush will be buried alongside former first lady Barbara Bush, who died in April, and their daughter Robin, who died of leukemia when she was three years old, at the site of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum.