President Trump honored former Republican presidential nominee and Kansas Sen. Bob Dole at a congressional Gold Medal Ceremony on Wednesday.

Trump praised Dole, the only former GOP presidential nominee to enthusiastically endorse his White House bid in 2016, as a "true American hero" and someone every lawmaker should admire during his remarks at the Capitol.

"Bob, that is the legacy you have left our nation and it will outlive us all," the president said.

Dole, 94, spent more than three decades in Congress after serving in World War II and twice led the U.S. Senate as majority leader. He is also a past chairman of the Republican National Committee and was the party's vice presidential nominee in 1976.

Several of his former colleagues described him on Wednesday as a consummate dealmaker – someone who often reached across the aisle when he presided over the upper chamber.

"How appropriate it is to give the gold medal to someone who is the gold standard," House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said of Dole, noting they worked together on the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.

Trump's campaign said earlier Wednesday that the two men have known each other for years, and the president has long appreciated Dole's work for veterans.