President Joe Biden eulogized former senator and presidential candidate Bob Dole at Dole's funeral Friday, remembering him as a patriot.
"He was a man of principle, pragmatism and enormous integrity," Biden said during the service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
Biden noted Dole's humble beginnings growing up in Kansas during the Dust Bowl. He also lauded Dole's service in World War II and his votes in favor of Civil Rights.
"Bob Dole is a man of his word. He loved his country, which he served his whole life," Biden said.
Biden, who served with Dole in the Senate for 25 years, noted that while they were often at odds with each other, they remained cordial.
"We disagreed, but we were never disagreeable with each other," Biden said.
Biden was one of several friends and colleagues to eulogize Dole. The service came after Dole's casket spent a day lying in state in the Capitol rotunda.
Dole died Sunday at the age of 98. He announced in February that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.
Dole served as an elected lawmaker from Kansas in both the House and Senate for decades. He ran for president several times throughout his career and was elected as the Republican nominee ahead of the 1996 election, which he later lost to Bill Clinton.
Upon his death, lawmakers and Washington mainstays remembered Dole as a virtuous man and someone willing to work across party lines.
Following the funeral service Friday, a motorcade will travel past the World War II Memorial on the National Mall — a monument that Dole played an instrumental role in establishing.
After the funeral and brief ceremony at the World War II Memorial, Dole's casket will be flown back to Kansas for memorial ceremonies in his hometown and at the state capitol. His body will eventually return to Washington at a later date, as Dole's remains will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
