Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter to miss Joe Biden's inauguration

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and his wifeRosalynn Carter will not attend president-elect Joe Biden's inauguration set for Jan. 20, 2021. It marks the first time the couple, 96 and 93, will have missed the ceremonysince Carter was sworn in as the 39th president in 1977.

A spokespersonat The Carter Center in Atlanta said the Carters have sent Biden and vice-president-elect Kamala Harris their "best wishes" and "look forward to a successful administration."

Biden was a young Delaware senator and Carter ally during the Georgian's term in the White House.

The Carters have spent the coronavirus pandemic mostly at their home in Plains, Ga., where both were raised and where they returned after leaving the White House in 1981.

Bushes will attend

Former president George W. Bush and his wife Laura have confirmed they will attend the inauguration in person.

"President and Mrs. Bush look forward to returning to the Capitol for the swearing in of President Biden and Vice-President Harris," spokespersonFreddy Ford said.

The announcement from Bush, a Republican, came a day before Congress was scheduled to convene for a joint session to confirm the electoral college vote won by Biden. A large groupof President Donald Trump's Republican allies in the House and Senate plan to object to the election results, a long-shot effort that is all but certain to fail.

The Bushes also attended Trump'sinauguration in 2017.

Carter's health issues

Carter, a Democrat, became the longest-lived American president in March 2019, surpassing former president George H.W. Bush, who died inNovember 2018.

Carter survived a melanoma diagnosis that spread to his brain in 2015. He has since had several falls and hip replacement surgery.

He no longer teaches Sunday School at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, as he had for decades, but still participates in church activities via video amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carter was the first former president to confirm his plans to attend President Donald Trump's inauguration in 2017. The Carters were seated on the aisle, next to former president Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, and former president George W. Bush and Laura Bush.

The elder Bush was the lone former president at the time who did not attend Trump's inauguration. The Carters did travel to Washington for the elder Bush's funeral.