Byrd's body to lie in repose on Sen. floor

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell
Aides say the Byrd family has requested that the body of the late Sen. Robert Byrd lie in repose in the Senate chamber on Thursday.

Byrd's casket would be placed in the well of the Senate where he served longer than any other American in history.

This type of tribute has occurred a number of times but not since 1959. Byrd was the only member of the current Senate in office then. ***CORRECTION*** The last senator to lay in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, was former Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen (R- IL), who died in 1969.

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Independent Redneck Va.

I didn't get a chance to put this up yesterday but my sympathies to Senator Byrd's family and close friends. He did a lot of good for a lot of people for a long time and he will be missed.

#1 - Tue Jun 29, 2010 12:31 PM EDT

Eric, Salinas, CA

Thanks Robert Byrd for your many decades of service to our country as a fine Democrat! May he rest in peace and be fondly remembered.

1 vote

#2 - Tue Jun 29, 2010 12:48 PM EDT

Robert Burnside

I do wish that First Read has been more careful in its choice of words for its headline. Senator Byrd will not lie in repose on the Senate "floor." He will lie in repose in the Senate "chamber." The headline conjures an image that is disrespectful of our revered senator.

#3 - Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:02 PM EDT

Adler-273784

Sen. Byrd, rest in peace. He spent many working days as a Senator and it is appropriate that before his final resting place that his body rest in the place he so loved and where he spent much of his life.

#4 - Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:03 PM EDT

Mike-1298933

He lied standing up for 52 years now he can lie in repose for eternity.

Poster boy for TERM Limits

#5 - Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:58 PM EDT