Sol Wachtler
judge
Harry Reid
American politician (1939-2021)
Harry Reid was a long-serving U.S. Senator from Nevada who rose to become the Senate Majority Leader. He played a key role in passing major legislation during the Obama administration and left a lasting impact on the political landscape.
Table of Contents
Occupation
About the Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid Jr.was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Senate Majority Leader from 2007 to 2015.
After earning an undergraduate degree from Utah State University and a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University, Reid began his public career as the city attorney for Henderson, Nevada, before being elected to the Nevada Assembly in 1968. Gubernatorial candidate Mike O’Callaghan, Reid’s former boxing coach, chose Reid as his running mate in 1970; following their victory Reid served as the 25th lieutenant governor of Nevada from 1971 to 1975. After being defeated in races for the United States Senate and mayor of Las Vegas, Reid served as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission from 1977 to 1981. From 1983 to 1987, Reid represented Nevada’s 1st district in the United States House of Representatives.
Reid was elected to the United States Senate in 1986 and served in the Senate from 1987 to 2017. He served as the Senate Democratic whip from 1999 to 2005 before succeeding Tom Daschle as Senate Minority Leader. The Democrats won control of the Senate after the 2006 United States Senate elections, and Reid became the Senate Majority Leader in 2007. He held that position for the final two years of George W. Bush’s presidency and for the first six years of Barack Obama’s presidency. As majority leader, Reid helped pass major legislation of the Obama administration, such as the Affordable Care Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In 2013, under Reid’s leadership, the Senate Democratic majority controversially invoked the “nuclear option” to eliminate the 60-vote requirement to end a filibuster for presidential nominations, other than nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court. Republicans took control of the Senate following the 2014 United States Senate elections, and Reid served as Senate Minority Leader from 2015 until his retirement in 2017. Reid is Nevada’s longest-serving senator, surpassing John P. Jones’s record by two days.
Reid was succeeded as the Senate Democratic leader by Chuck Schumer, whose leadership bid had been endorsed by Reid. Along with Alben W. Barkley and Mike Mansfield, Reid was one of only three senators to have served at least eight years as majority leader. Harry Reid International Airport, which serves the Las Vegas Valley, was named after Reid on December 14, 2021, two weeks before his death from cancer. The airport was previously named after Pat McCarran, one of Reid’s Senate predecessors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Harry Reid was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017, including as the Senate Majority Leader from 2007 to 2015.
As Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid helped pass key legislation such as the Affordable Care Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act during the Obama administration.
Harry Reid served in the U.S. Senate for 30 years, from 1987 to 2017, making him Nevada’s longest-serving senator.
Before becoming a U.S. Senator, Harry Reid worked as a city attorney for Henderson, Nevada, and served as the 25th lieutenant governor of Nevada from 1971 to 1975.
The Las Vegas airport was renamed the Harry Reid International Airport in 2021, shortly before his death, in honor of Reid’s long-standing service and contributions to Nevada.
Chuck Schumer succeeded Harry Reid as the Senate Democratic leader, with Reid’s endorsement, when Reid retired in 2017.
Harry Reid served as the Senate Majority Leader for 8 years, from 2007 to 2015, during the final two years of George W. Bush’s presidency and the first six years of Barack Obama’s presidency.
14 Quotes by Harry Reid
- 1.
I can’t stand John McCain.
Harry ReidAmerican politician (1939-2021)
- 2.
I am convinced that I do not want to give up more power to the White House, whether it’s George Bush or Barack Obama. And I’m going to fight as hard as I can against President Obama on these earmarks and my Republican colleagues who hate to vote for them, but love to get them.
Harry ReidAmerican politician (1939-2021)
- 3.
It’s time that America’s government lived by the same values as America’s families. It’s time we invested in America’s future and made sure our people have the skills to compete and thrive in a 21st century economy. That’s what Democrats believe.
Harry ReidAmerican politician (1939-2021)
- 4.
My Republican friends are lamenting reconciliation. But I would recommend for them to go back and look at history.
Harry ReidAmerican politician (1939-2021)
- 5.
There’s a lot we can do to improve American’s retirement security, but it’s wrong to replace the guaranteed benefit that Americans have earned with a guaranteed benefit cut of forty percent or more.
Harry ReidAmerican politician (1939-2021)
- 6.
This 21st century economy holds great promise for our people. But unless we give all Americans the skills they need to succeed, countries like India and China will take good-paying jobs that should be ours.
Harry ReidAmerican politician (1939-2021)
- 7.
I think it would take a real stretch to think that I caused the problems with the economy.
Harry ReidAmerican politician (1939-2021)
- 8.
So people have been hurting and I understand that. And it doesn’t give them comfort or solace for me to tell them, you know, but for me, we would be in a worldwide depression.
Harry ReidAmerican politician (1939-2021)
- 9.
People in Nevada know me from the street to the ring to the Senate chambers. I’ve never had to prove my manhood to anyone.
Harry ReidAmerican politician (1939-2021)
- 10.
So the next thing I assume I’ll be hearing from Republicans, they want to change rules some way, as they do on the House when you get a problem with ethics, they just change the rules.
Harry ReidAmerican politician (1939-2021)
- 11.
Now that our troops are mired in a dangerous effort to defeat the insurgency and are also trying to help rebuild the country, Americans of all political persuasions simply want the United States to succeed and our troops to be as safe as possible.
Harry ReidAmerican politician (1939-2021)
- 12.
The American people do not like privatization. They are afraid of the debt the president’s willing to do. And they don’t like benefit cuts. And everyone here should understand all 45 Senate Democrats are united. We are not going to let this happen.
Harry ReidAmerican politician (1939-2021)
- 13.
We found ourselves in a hole that I didn’t dig, but I have dug, dug and dug to try to get out of that hole.
Harry ReidAmerican politician (1939-2021)
- 14.
I was born and raised in the high desert of Nevada in a tiny town called Searchlight. My dad was a hard rock miner. My mom took in wash. I grew up around people of strong values – even if they rarely talked about them.
Harry ReidAmerican politician (1939-2021)