Biden eulogizes Reid as 'one of the greatest Senate Majority Leaders in history'

Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was remembered by top Democratic politicians at his memorial service in Las Vegas on Saturday, with President Joe Biden hailing the Nevada Democrat as someone who "will always have your back" and former President Barack Obama remembered him. As a fighter "who did not give up."

Reid, the former Democratic Senate leader who led the epic legislative battle over three decades in Congress, died in December at the age of 82 after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

His service honored his love for the family, to which all five children of the late senator were speaking; his love for Nevada, the state he helped put on the political map in his decades in office; And he played a central role in bringing about some of the most important laws of the last two decades.

Obama cast Reed as the consummate pragmatist, willing to work "with people he didn't agree with or particularly liked". At a time when "compromise is often portrayed as a weakness, Harry had a different view," Obama said, recalling that the former Democratic leader "did not believe in highfalutin principles or rigid ideologies" and "Meet people where they were, not where he wanted them to be."

"You wanted Harry to be at Foxhole with you. His willingness to fight by my side, to be with me even when things weren't going our way... His willingness to be there and fight for my entire presidency. But it will remain. It's a debt that I can never fully pay off," Obama said.

Obama's words served as a timely message to Democrats in Congress, with progressive and liberal lawmakers feuding over Biden's agenda and dividing the party.

During the service, those closest to Reed paid tribute to his unexpected life. A child born into abject poverty in a small part of town called Searchlight, he became the most powerful politician in Nevada history, helping turn the western state into a Democratic stronghold, having last served as a Republican president in 2004. was supported. The upbringing defined Reed's career, turning him into a champion of impoverished working-class families, as he grew up in the Nevada desert.

Biden remembered Reid as someone whose "stiffness was clearly Nevadan" and whose "story was distinctly American."

“It was all searchlight — no spotlight,” Biden later said, “Harry Reid would be considered one of the greatest Senate majority leaders in history. … For Harry, it was not about power; It was about power. It was about people being able to use power to do the right thing. That's why you wanted Harry in your corner."

The memorial service unfolded on a picture-perfect day in the Las Vegas Valley, with Reid's flag-wrapped coffin being carried under a cloudless blue morning sky by an honor guard. His 19 grandchildren served as honorary pallbearers.

"People know his story. He was living the American Dream, you might say — from Searchlight to Washington," said his son, Leif Reid. “From my time as a young boy, it still sounded fictional. But the reality was that he was a man who took care of his stewardship, to perform his duty, to do his best every day. chose to do."

A giant electronic billboard above the Las Vegas Strip honored Reid with the message: "Nevada Born. Nevada Leader."

Reid, a practicing Mormon who neither drank nor gambled, was a pioneer of the city that had changed during his time in office. A fierce partisan, sure, but Reid also had close ties with other city elders, including the late casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, one of the biggest Republican contributors to American politics.

Representatives from Adelson's office for Saturday's service were along with local GOP officials and Republican senators, including Richard Shelby of Alabama, Roy Blunt of Missouri and Susan Collins of Maine.

Hand-drawn signs thanking Reed hung on a fence outside the funeral, which was also surrounded by more than a dozen protesters carrying Trump banners.

In addition to Biden and Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke at the memorial service, recounting comical and poignant stories about their former aide.

Pelosi recalled how she told Reid that she wanted to host a big dinner when he was retiring. Reed replied, "Save money, feed the poor," Pelosi recalled.

Pelosi also recalled how she never heard Reed speak ill of any of her Senate aides. Speaking after Pelosi, Obama jokingly corrected the speaker.

Obama said, "I heard Nancy Pelosi say that she didn't hear Harry say anything bad about any of his coworkers. I don't know about that Nancy - but he'll work with her!

Ahead of the memorial, Reid's wife Landra Gould said that she and her family are "honored to have such a distinguished group paying tribute to Harry's life and achievements. ... not only to be some of the most consequential leaders of our time". - they're also some of Harry's best friends."

Brandon Flowers, lead singer of The Killers, a Las Vegas-founded band and a frequent fixture at big campaign shows for Reed over the years, performed the poignant "Be Still" and the Nevada state song, "Home Means Nevada". Renowned lyricist and composer Carol King also performed.

Reid was remembered on Saturday as a product of Nevada and as a man whose political career grew with the state he called home. When Nevada went from one congressional district to two after the 1980 census, Reid ran for a newly created congressional district around Las Vegas in 1982 and won the general election. He was re-elected in 1984. He then successfully ran for the open Senate seat of Nevada in 1986.

He rose through the leadership ranks, serving as the Chamber's Democratic whip from 1999 to 2005. From 2005 through his retirement in 2017, he served as the leader of his party in the Senate during a time of Democrats in both the minority and majority.

Obama praising Reid was a full circle moment for both. Reid, then as Democratic leader in the Senate, urged then-Sen. Obama ran for the presidency long before he was seen as a presidential contender. After Obama won, Reid became his greatest ally in the Senate, helping herd key pieces of legislation through the legislative body.

"Without Harry we could not pass the Recovery Act. ... Without Harry we could not save people's jobs. ... Without Harry we could not pass Wall Street Reforms. ... Without Harry "There will be no Affordable Care Act," Obama said, adding that Reid "get things done."