Pelosi, Schumer lead tributes to Harry Reid
WASHINGTON — Former Sen. Harry Reid was remembered Wednesday as a “legendary leader,” as colleagues and friends gathered at the U.S. Capitol to pay tribute to a hardscrabble Democrat who rose from poverty in a dusty Nevada mining town to the most powerful position in the Senate.
Reid lay in state at the Capitol Rotunda while Vice President Kamala Harris, senators and others joined for a ceremony almost as succinct as his own dry-humored style of hanging up the phone rather than engaging in lengthy goodbyes. Reid, who had pancreatic cancer, died last month at 82.
“Harry Reid made the world a better place,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
“To see him lead and legislate was to see a master at work,” said Pelosi, who worked side by side with him when they were the top two Democrats in Congress. She called Reid “a legendary leader of great integrity.”
Reid served longer in Congress than anyone from his Battle Born state and was the Senate majority leader alongside two presidents. He led the Senate during one of its more consequential legislative sessions, securing the economic recovery bill during the Great Recession and President Barack Obama’s landmark health care law.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., spoke of having to explain Reid’s abrupt, soft-spoken leadership style to the new senators.
“Even though Harry talked softly, what he said carried the force of thunder,“Schumer said.
Schumer said Reid never forgot the struggles of families and places like the one he came from and believed government had a moral obligation to ensure Americans had opportunities to improve their lives. “Few have shaped the workings of this building like our dear friend from Nevada,” he said. “Few have dedicated their lives to the work of the people quite like Harry did.
The service was largely closed to the public under COVID-19 protocols, though former colleagues, staff and others were permitted to visit during the day. He was only the 15th senator to have had the honor; his casket rested on the catafalque used for Abraham Lincoln.
Harris did not speak during her visit, but paused at the casket in tribute, as did the Republican leaders in Congress, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California.
Biden, Obama and others paid tribute during a funeral service last weekend in Las Vegas recalling Reid’s feisty wit, disinterest in Washington’s social scene and fearless approach to governing.
Influential in retirement, Reid said Biden should give his new presidency just three weeks to try to work with Republicans. If not, Biden should force changes in the Senate’s filibuster rules to allow simple majority passage of elections and voting rights legislation and other priorities, Reid said.
“The time’s going to come when he’s going to have to move in and get rid of the filibuster,” Reid told the Associated Press.
First elected to the House in 1982 and reelected in 1984, Reid served 30 years in the Senate, including a decade as the Senate Democratic leader.