The body of former US president Gerald Ford left the Capitol Hill today as the period set aside for Americans to say goodbye gave way to an invitation-only funeral at the Washington National Cathedral.
President George Bush headed a list of dignitaries, including former presidents George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, who gathered to pay last respects to Mr Ford, who died on December 26th aged 93.
In a eulogy, President Bush hailed his predecessor for helping restore Americans' faith in democracy after the bitter Watergate scandal that brought Mr Ford into office.
"In President Ford ... America found a man whose character and leadership would bring calm and healing to one of the most divisive moments in our nation's history," Mr Bush said as he stood before the flag-draped coffin.
Criticized by Mr Ford for his invasion of Iraq in a posthumously disclosed interview, Mr Bush made no reference to the war but hailed what he called Mr Ford's courage in making a controversial decision.
"Time and again he would step forward and keep his promise even as the dark clouds of political crisis gathered over America," the elder President Bush said.
Mr Ford held office for two and a half years after Richard Nixon resigned on August 9th, 1974, having been implicated in a cover-up of a break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex in Washington.
Mr Ford stirred lasting controversy by granting Nixon a blanket pardon for any crimes he may have committed - a move that helped Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, beat him in 1976.
The elder Bush said Ford had "instantly restored the honor of the Oval Office and helped America begin to turn the page on one of our saddest political chapters."
Thousands filed into the Capitol Rotunda over two days and a night to pay respects to the man summoned to the highest office when the Watergate scandal consumed Richard Nixon's presidency in 1974.
Afterwards, Mr Ford's remains briefly lay in repose outside the Senate chamber in tribute to his tenure as Senate president when he served as Mr Nixon's vice president.
Similarly, his casket had rested outside the chamber of the House of Representatives upon its arrival on Saturday in remembrance of his quarter century as a congressman from the Midwest state of Michigan.
Cannon fire heralded Mr Ford's departure from the Capitol, and a military honour guard carried his casket down the steps as his widow, Betty, watched.
On a national day of mourning that closed most of the US government as well as financial markets, the cortege wound through the streets of the US capital on a route passing the White House to the cathedral.
President Bush and wife Laura Bush briefly paid their respects.
Mr Bush, who had been on holiday at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, had saluted Mr Ford in a statement from there last week after the former president died. He also devoted his weekly Saturday radio address to Mr Ford, who died at 93.
Mr Ford is to be buried close to his presidential library in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Wednesday.
Agencies