US Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas fondly remembered as she lies in state at Houston City Hall

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President Joe Biden was in Houston Monday evening to pay his respects to longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.

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Several days of events honoring the life of longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas are underway. On Monday, the longtime lawmaker lay in state in the rotunda of Houston’s city hall. (AP Video: Lekan Oyekanmi)

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A member of the Houston Police Dept., watches the line as people pay their respect to the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee in the rotunda of Houston City Hall on Monday, July 29, 2024 in Houston. Jackson Lee died on July 19 after battling pancreatic cancer. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool)

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People wait to pay their respects as the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee lies in state Monday, July 29, 2024, at Houston City Hall in Houston. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

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President Joe Biden pays respects to the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, as she lays in state in the rotunda of Houston City Hall, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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President Joe Biden pays respects to the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, as she lay in state in the rotunda of Houston City Hall, Monday, July 29, 2024. Pictured from left are her husband Elwyn Lee and her son Jason Lee. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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Batina “Tina” Smith takes video as she pays respect to the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee in the rotunda of Houston City Hall Monday, July 29, 2024, in Houston. Jackson Lee died on July 19 after battling pancreatic cancer. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool)

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Ben Burns talks with a man named Motapa as they wait to pay their respects to the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee as she lies in state Monday, July 29, 2024, at Houston City Hall in Houston. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

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Houston Mayor John Whitmire speaks during a brief ceremony as the public arrives to pay their respect to the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee as she lies in state Monday, July 29, 2024, at Houston City Hall in Houston. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

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Tina Knowles was in attendance with the Lee family before a short prayer ceremony for the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee at Houston City Hall on Monday, July 29, 2024, in Houston. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool)

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Houston City Council Member Martha Castex-Tatum listens during a brief ceremony as the public arrives to pay their respect to the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee as she lies in state Monday, July 29, 2024, at Houston City Hall in Houston. “It’s really surreal to know that the congresswoman is not here,” Castex-Tatum said. “It feels very hollow in Houston right now.” (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

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Erica Lee, daughter of the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is comforted by Houston City Council Member Tiffany D. Thomas in the City Hall rotunda Monday, July 29, 2024 in Houston. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool)

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Attendees sign a guest book after paying respect to the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee in the rotunda of Houston City Hall on Monday, July 29, 2024, in Houston. Jackson Lee died on July 19 after battling pancreatic cancer. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool)

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Family members stand in front of the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee’s casket in the rotunda of Houston City Hall on Monday, July 29, 2024, in Houston. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool)

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Family members of the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee including husband, Elwyn, left, son Jason and daughter Erica, back right, greet well-wishers while Jackson Lee’s casket lies in state in the rotunda of Houston City Hall Monday, July 29, 2024, in Houston. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool)

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Houston Mayor John Whitmire, right, walks into Houston City Hall rotunda with Sheila Jackson Lee’s husband Elwyn, and daughter Erica as U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee lies in state on Monday, July 29, 2024, in Houston. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool)

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People are overcome with emotion as the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee’s casket in the rotunda of Houston City Hall on Monday, July 29, 2024, in Houston. Jackson Lee died on July 19 after battling pancreatic cancer. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool)

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FILE - Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee, D-Texas, speaks during a House Judiciary Committee meeting, Dec. 13, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Several days of events honoring the life of longtime U.S. Rep. Jackson Lee of Texas are set to begin. On Monday, July 29, 2024, the longtime lawmaker will lie in state in the rotunda of Houston’s city hall. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool, File)

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FILE - Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, poses for photographers as she arrives at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, Saturday, April 29, 2023. Several days of events honoring the life of longtime U.S. Rep. Jackson Lee of Texas are set to begin. On Monday, July 29, 2024, the longtime lawmaker will lie in state in the rotunda of Houston’s city hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

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FILE - Mayoral candidate U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee speaks to supporters during an election watch party, Nov. 7, 2023, at Bayou Place in Houston. Several days of events honoring the life of longtime U.S. Rep. Jackson Lee of Texas are set to begin. On Monday, July 29, 2024, the longtime lawmaker will lie in state in the rotunda of Houston’s city hall. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP, File)

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President Joe Biden pays respects to the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, as she lays in state in the rotunda of Houston City Hall, Monday, July 29, 2024. Pictured from left are her husband Elwyn Lee and her son Jason Lee. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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President Joe Biden pays respects to the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, as she lays in state in the rotunda of Houston City Hall, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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By JUAN A. LOZANO

HOUSTON (AP) — Residents who stood in line on Monday to pay their respects to longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas as her body lay in state in Houston’s City Hall remembered her as an advocate for human rights and her community.

“I don’t know of another politician that worked as hard as Sheila Jackson Lee did for our community, and I will be forever grateful to her for everything she did for our community,” said Phyllis Moss, 62, a Houston resident who was among the more than 100 people who stood in line Monday morning to enter City Hall as the building was opened to the public.

Following a trip to Austin earlier in the day, President Joe Biden stopped in Houston on Monday evening and paid his respects to Jackson Lee.

Biden placed a bouquet of flowers beside Jackson Lee’s flag-draped casket, briefly prayed over it and then put his hand on the casket before spending some time visiting with her husband and two children.

“No matter the issue — from delivering racial justice to building an economy for working people — she was unrelenting in her leadership,” Biden said in a statement after Jackson Lee’s death.

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The congresswoman, who helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday, was 74 when she died on July 19 after being treated for pancreatic cancer.

Her body will lie in state in Houston’s City Hall rotunda for 10 hours.

Residents, constituents, officials and others stood in line outside in hot and humid conditions before entering City Hall and walking by her flag-draped casket. A large photo of Jackson Lee, as well as two large flower arrangements, stood next to her casket.

Some who walked by Jackson Lee’s casket stopped to pray while others took photos.

Eskender Tamrat walked by and waved an Ethiopian flag. Tamrat, who immigrated to Houston from Ethiopia, called Jackson Lee “a longtime friend of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian community.”

“She’s a great community supporter. She’s a great human rights advocate. But she’s also a global leader because she doesn’t just focus on the community in Houston or her area, but she focused on the betterment of every individual, every community,” said Tamrat, 70.

By Monday afternoon, nearly 900 people had passed through the rotunda, according to a city spokesperson.

The Democrat had represented her Houston-based district and the nation’s fourth-largest city since 1995. She previously had breast cancer and announced the pancreatic cancer diagnosis on June 2.

During a brief ceremony with local religious leaders before the rotunda was opened to the public, Mayor John Whitmire said he saw firsthand Jackson Lee’s passion and dedication for all Houston residents.

“She didn’t let a redistricting line or a boundary line interfere with her voice. We gather here this morning, sad but a celebration,” said Whitmire, who had reached out to Jackson Lee’s family about having her lie in state at City Hall.

Before being elected to Congress, Jackson Lee served on Houston’s city council from 1990 to 1994.

She was only the second person to be granted the honor of lying in state in Houston’s City Hall rotunda. The other was renowned cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey, who died in 2008.

Monday was the first of several days of events honoring Jackson Lee’s life. She also is set to be remembered at viewings and services on Tuesday and Wednesday before her funeral Thursday.

Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to attend the funeral service in Houston.

After first being elected, Jackson Lee quickly established herself as a fierce advocate for women and minorities and a leader for House Democrats on many social justice issues, from policing reform to reparations for descendants of enslaved people. She led the first rewrite of the Violence Against Women Act in nearly a decade, which included protections for Native American, transgender and immigrant women.

Jackson Lee routinely won reelection to Congress with ease. She unsuccessfully ran to be Houston’s mayor last year.

Bobbie D. Nickerson, 71, a suburban Houston resident, said Monday’s crowd at City Hall for Jackson Lee shows “how much she was loved and cared for and respected.”

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