Senate leaders praise Reid in Washington

WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that losing his mentor Harry Reid of Nevada “is like losing track of the North Star.”

Schumer, D-N.Y., opened the Senate with a tribute to Reid, who died at age 82 on Dec. 28 at his home in Henderson, Nevada, following a years’ long battle with pancreatic cancer.

“When you lose someone as close to us as Harry was, they’re never truly gone,” Schumer said of the former face of the Senate Democratic caucus.

Although acknowledging sharp disagreements on policy, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Reid’s path from poverty to the august legislative chamber “was a quintessential American story.”

The two leaders, Reid and McConnell, sparred often and heatedly over legislation, appointments and policy priorities when both were leaders of their respective party caucuses. McConnell said that through it all, he never doubted Reid was doing what he thought was best for Nevada and the nation.

And that path from poverty, to the boxing ring to the Senate took toughness and tenacity, McConnell said. “Just like everywhere else, Harry left it all in the ring,” he added.

Reid’s handpicked Democratic successor in the Senate, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada said Reid was “one of the most powerful, effective advocates my home state has ever had.”

“It is my incredible honor to hold the Senate seat he occupied so well for so long,” Cortez Masto said in a speech on the Senate floor.

Reid was elected to state and federal elective positions, serving as a Nevada assemblyman, lieutenant governor, chairman of the Gaming Control Board, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and a U.S. senator.

During his tenure he was instrumental in passing the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. He also helped mothball the congressionally designated permanent nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, just north of Las Vegas.

Cortez Masto said Reid also recognized that the state’s diversity mirrored the nation’s, and worked to advance the state’s role in selecting national leaders. He also worked for rural and tribal residents, and championed conservation and public lands.

Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced earlier this week that Reid would lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 12, an honor reserved for presidents, leaders and citizens of great eminence.

“He’ll make his final return to the U.S. Capitol,” Schumer said.

In a statement, Reid’s wife of 62 years, Landra, speaking for the family, thanked Schumer and Pelosi for the honor.

“Harry spent decades in those halls fighting for what he believed was right and forging lifelong friendships,” she said. “We’re touched and grateful for the opportunity to honor Harry and his accomplishments.”

A memorial service for Reid will be held Saturday in Las Vegas. President Joe Biden will attend.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ceremony at the Capitol next week will be limited to friends and family.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.