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Harry Mason Reid Jr. (/riːd/; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) 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.

Key Information

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.[1] 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.[2]

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.[3] The airport was previously named after Pat McCarran, one of Reid's Senate predecessors.

Early life and early career

[edit]

Harry Mason Reid Jr. was born on December 2, 1939, in Searchlight, Nevada, the third of four sons of Harry Reid, a rock miner, and Inez Orena (Jaynes) Reid, a laundress for local brothels.[4][5] At that time, Searchlight was a small, impoverished town.[6][7] His father died by suicide in 1972, at the age of 58, when Harry was 32 years old.[8][9] His paternal grandmother was an English immigrant from Darlaston, Staffordshire. Reid's boyhood home was a shack with no indoor toilet, hot water or telephone.[8][10]

Since Searchlight had no high school, Reid boarded with relatives 40 miles (64 km) away, in Henderson, so that he could attend Basic High School,[8] where he played football and was an amateur boxer.[11] While at Basic High, he met future Nevada governor Mike O'Callaghan, who was a teacher there and served as Reid's boxing coach. Reid attended Southern Utah University and graduated from Utah State University in 1961, where he double-majored in political science and history.[12] He also minored in economics at Utah State's School of Commerce and Business Administration.[13] He then attended George Washington University Law School while working as a police officer for the United States Capitol Police, and he earned his Juris Doctor in 1964.[6]

Early political career

[edit]
Further information: Electoral history of Harry Reid

State politics

[edit]

Reid returned to Nevada after law school and served as Henderson city attorney[14][15] before being elected to the Nevada Assembly for the multi-member fourth district of Clark County in 1968. In 1970, at age 30, Reid was chosen by O'Callaghan as his running mate for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada. Reid and O'Callaghan won their respective races, and Reid served as lieutenant governor from 1971 until 1974, when he ran for the U.S. Senate seat that was being vacated by Alan Bible. He lost by fewer than 700 votes to former governor Paul Laxalt. In 1975, Reid ran for mayor of Las Vegas and lost to Bill Briare.[16]

Reid served as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission from 1977 to 1981. When Jack Gordon offered Reid a $12,000 bribe to get approval of new games for casinos, Reid brought in the FBI to tape Gordon's bribery attempt and arrest him. After FBI agents interrupted the transaction as prearranged, Reid lost his temper and attempted to choke Gordon, saying "You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me!" before agents stopped him. Gordon was convicted in 1979 and sentenced to six months in prison. Reid presided over the 1979 hearing that refused to issue a gaming license to casino operator Frank Rosenthal because of his ties to organized crime groups such as the Chicago Outfit and particularly his close personal association with mobster Anthony Spilotro. Reid later stated that "Rosenthal was the only person that I was ever afraid of."[17] Rosenthal loudly and publicly confronted Reid after the hearing, telling gathered reporters that he had performed many personal favors for Reid. Reid conceded under heated interrogation from Rosenthal that the two men had met for lunch at his Stardust Resort and Casino and that he had asked Rosenthal to cover up undesirable news stories.[18] FBI wiretaps captured mobsters claiming that Reid was under their control, causing governor Robert List to feel pressure to ask Reid to resign. However, List believed Reid's assertions that the accusations were baseless. In 1981, Reid's wife found a bomb attached to the family station wagon;[7][19][20] Reid suspected it was placed by Rosenthal or Gordon, although this has never been proven in court.[8]

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

[edit]

Before the 1980 census, Nevada had only a single at-large member of the United States House of Representatives, but population growth in the 1970s resulted in the state picking up a second district. Reid won the Democratic nomination for the 1st district, based in Las Vegas, in 1982, and easily won the general election.[21] He was re-elected in 1984.[22]

Reid was instrumental in the establishment of Great Basin National Park, sponsoring the bill creating it in 1986 and ensuring the protection of Wheeler Peak and groves of bristlecone pine.[23]

U.S. Senate

[edit]

Elections

[edit]
Reid during the 107th Congress in 2002

In 1986, Reid won the Democratic nomination for the seat of retiring two-term incumbent Republican Senator Paul Laxalt. Reid defeated former at-large U.S. Representative Jim Santini, a Democrat who had turned Republican, in the November election. Reid ran for reelection in 1992 which he won by a double-digit margin. In 1998 he narrowly defeated U.S. Representative John Ensign in the midst of a statewide Republican sweep. In 2004, Reid won reelection with 61 percent of the vote, defeating Richard Ziser.[24]

Ensign was elected to Nevada's other Senate seat in 2000. Ensign and Reid had a very good relationship despite their bitter contest in 1998. The two frequently worked together on Nevada issues until Ensign resigned his Senate seat in 2011 due to an ethics scandal.[25]

In 2010, Reid won the Democratic nomination with 75% of the vote in the June 8 primary. He then faced a very competitive race in the 2010 general election. Reid engaged in a $1 million media campaign to "reintroduce himself" to the state's voters.[26] He defeated Republican challenger Sharron Angle in the November 2 election, 50.3% to 44.6%.[27]

In January 2015, Reid suffered severe injuries in an exercise accident.[28] On March 27, 2015, Reid uploaded a video to his YouTube account announcing that he would not seek reelection in November 2016. Reid endorsed Senator Chuck Schumer from New York to succeed him as Minority Leader.[29] Former Nevada Attorney General and fellow Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto was elected to succeed Reid as a U.S. senator from Nevada.[30]

On January 1, 2017, two days before the end of his term, Reid surpassed Senator John P. Jones to become the longest-serving U.S. Senator from Nevada.[31]

Leadership

[edit]

From 1999 to 2005, Reid served as Senate Democratic Whip, as minority whip from 1999 to 2001, and again from 2003 to 2005. Reid was majority whip from 2001 to 2003, except for a brief period from January to June 2001. He was the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee in from January to June 2001 (succeeding Max Baucus) before relinquishing the position to allow Jim Jeffords to switch parties and become chair, having given Democrats the majority.[32] From 2001 to 2003, he served as chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee. Reid succeeded Tom Daschle as Minority Leader in 2005; he became Majority Leader after the 2006 election until 2015. He was again Minority Leader until his retirement in 2017 and was succeeded by Chuck Schumer.[33]

Liberal critics argued that Reid allowed Senate Republicans to create a 60-vote bar for passage of bills without a Democratic filibuster.[34][35][36] Conservatives criticized Reid for his extensive use of the procedural tactic known as "filling the tree" to prevent amendments on important bills.[37]

UFOs

[edit]

In 2007, while he was the Senate Majority Leader, Reid initiated the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program to study unidentified flying objects[38][39] at the urging of Reid's friend, Nevada billionaire and governmental contractor Robert Bigelow,[40] and with support from the late senators Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii). The program began in the DIA in 2007 and was budgeted $22 million over its five years of operation.[41][42][43]

The United States Air Force facility Homey Airport, commonly known as Area 51, is located on Groom Lake in Reid's home state of Nevada, and has been rumored to house materials allegedly retrieved from the 1947 Roswell UFO incident.[44]

June 24, 2009, letter from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn regarding the Advanced Aerospace Threat and Identification Program (AATIP)

When interviewed in the aftermath of publicity surrounding the AATIP, Reid expressed pride in his accomplishment, and was quoted as saying "I think it's one of the good things I did in my congressional service. I've done something that no one has done before."[41][43] Reid explained the reasoning behind his sponsorship of the program by saying "I'm interested in science, and in helping the American public understand what the hell is going on" and stated that "hundreds and hundreds of papers" have been available since the program was completed and that "Most all of it, 80 percent at least, is public" adding "I wanted it public, it was made public, and you guys have not even looked at it."[43]

A 2009 letter by Reid was published by KLAS-TV investigative journalists George Knapp and Matt Adams, where the Senator states that AATIP has made "much progress" with the "identification of several highly sensitive, unconventional aerospace-related findings" that will "likely lead to technology advancements" and recommends the creation of a special access program for specific parts of AATIP.[45]

Nuclear option

[edit]

On November 21, 2013, under Reid's tenure as Majority Leader, the Democratic majority Senate voted 52–48 to eliminate the 60-vote requirement to end a filibuster against all executive branch nominees and judicial nominees other than to the U.S. Supreme Court.[46] A 3/5 supermajority was still required to end filibusters unrelated to those nominees, such as for legislation and Supreme Court nominees.[47] The Democrats' stated motivation for the "nuclear option" was expansion of filibustering by Republicans during the Obama administration, in particular blocking three nominations to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.[48]

Reid's invocation of the nuclear option on judicial nominations was controversial as, on April 6, 2017, Senate Republicans similarly invoked the nuclear option to remove the Supreme Court exception created in 2013, allowing the Trump administration to appoint Justices on party lines. This was after Senate Democrats filibustered the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court of the United States and after the Senate Republicans had previously refused to take up Merrick Garland's nomination by President Obama in 2016.[49][50][51][52]

Ethics controversies

[edit]

Reid was criticized during his tenure for several potentially self-enriching tactics. In 2005, Reid earmarked a spending bill to provide for building a bridge between Nevada and Arizona that would make land he owned more valuable. Reid called funding for the construction of a bridge over the Colorado River, among other projects, "incredibly good news for Nevada" in a news release after the passage of the 2006 transportation bill. He owned 160 acres (65 ha) of land several miles from the proposed bridge site in Arizona. The bridge could add value to his real estate investment.[53] A year later it was reported that Reid had used campaign donations to pay for $3,300 in Christmas gifts to the staff at the condominium where he resided;[54] federal election law prohibits candidates from using political donations for personal use. Reid's staff stated that his campaign attorneys had approved this use of the funds, but that Reid would personally reimburse his campaign for the expenses. Citizens United filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission to investigate the matter.[55]

A series of investigative reports in the Los Angeles Times[56][57][58] suggested that Reid had introduced legislation and imposed pressure on regulatory agencies to advance the business interests of his close friend Harvey Whittemore, a Nevada attorney-lobbyist who contributed heavily to Reid's campaigns and leadership fund and who employed Reid's son Leif as his personal attorney. With Reid's help, Whittemore was able to proceed with construction of a $30 billion planned golf course development, Coyote Springs, a project heavily criticized by environmental groups for reasons including its projected effects on several endangered species.[59][60] Whittemore served a two-year prison sentence after being found guilty in 2013 of funneling $133,400 in illegal contributions to Reid's reelection campaign.[61]

Committee assignments

[edit]

Political positions

[edit]
Main article: Political positions of Harry Reid

Reid scored a lifetime conservative rating of 19% from the American Conservative Union (ACU),[63] and a 2008 liberal rating of 70% from the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA).[64] Other independent ratings include a 29% rating in 2003 from the abortion rights lobbyist organization NARAL,[65] an 85% rating from Planned Parenthood in 2013,[66] and a "B" rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund.[67]

President Barack Obama shakes hands with Reid after signing the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 on March 30, 2009.

Reid spearheaded several initiatives while in Congress. In 2006, Reid co-sponsored the Prevention First Amendment with Hillary Clinton, which would fund abortion prevention efforts such as giving women broader access to contraception. The bill faced Republican opposition and failed.[68] In January 2007, Reid brought a Senate ethics reform bill to a vote to bar congressional members from accepting gifts, meals, and trips from lobbyists and organizations employing lobbyists, to bar Senators from borrowing corporate jets for travel, and to compel Senators to disclose names of sponsors, or authors, of bills and projects. The bill passed 96–2.[69] In the 111th Congress, Reid shepherded the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) through the Senate.[70]

Reid was initially a centrist Democrat, and he held anti-abortion views and supported gun rights and opposed illegal immigration.[71][72][73][74] He was considered fiscally liberal and socially conservative. He believed that Roe v. Wade should be overturned, and in 1999, voted against an amendment that supported Roe.[75][76] In 1998, he stated that he believed in a restricted right to abortion, stating that "abortions should be legal only when the pregnancy resulted from incest, rape, or when the life of the woman is endangered".[77] He voted several times to ban the intact dilation and evacuation, or "partial-birth abortion" procedure.[78] Reid supported embryonic stem cell research.[79] Over time, Reid's views became more progressive.[80][81]

Reid stands near President Barack Obama as he signs the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell

Regarding same-sex marriage, Reid initially believed that "marriage should be between a man and a woman", but abandoned that position in favor of same-sex marriage in 2012.[82]

In regard to local issues, Reid firmly opposed construction of the proposed Yucca Mountain federal nuclear waste repository in Nevada.[83] Reid initially opposed the legalization of online poker, but in 2010 it was reported his position had evolved – a move some argued was influenced by "hundreds of thousands of dollars Las Vegas casinos contributed to his re-election campaign".[84]

Reid speaking at the State Children's Health Insurance Program Art Exhibit press conference

Reid called immigration reform one of his priorities at the 110th Congress. He supported the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), which would give certain high school graduates who had arrived in the U.S. illegally, conditional legal status so they could attend college or enlist in the military. They could then obtain permanent legal residency after completing two years of military service or two years of college.[85]

Reid supported use of force in the Middle East, but in September 2007, called for a drastic change in strategy.[86] In January 1991, Reid voted to authorize the first Gulf War,[87] quoting John F. Kennedy's 1963 State of the Union speech on the Senate floor, saying "the mere absence of war is not peace."[88][89] He also voted in support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[90][91] In March 2007, he voted in favor of "redeploying U.S. troops out of Iraq by March 2008",[91] and later that year, said, "As long as we follow [President Bush's] path in Iraq, the war is lost."[92]

Reid was a strong advocate of recognizing the Armenian genocide.[93]

Reid was a staunch defender of Obamacare both online and in speeches.[94] He advocated outlawing prostitution in Nevada.[95]

On May 15, 2013, Reid revealed to reporters that his niece is a lesbian as he spoke about his hope that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act would be signed into law.[96]

Conservation legacy

[edit]

Reid supported land conservation in Nevada.[97][98] He successfully secured the designation of about 5.1 million acres (21,000 km2) of U.S. federal land in Nevada as protected land, shielding them from development.[97] Among these were the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument,[99] the Basin and Range National Monument,[98] and the Gold Butte National Monument.[97]

Reid was also the champion of the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, 1998 legislation that has redirected more than $4 billion in proceeds from the sale of public lands in Nevada to conservation initiatives, environmentally sensitive land acquisitions, new parks and trails, and capital projects for federal land management agencies.[100]

Reid was criticized as one of the main culprits for the failure of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, as the Democrats' majority in Congress during that time had not been used to enact climate-protection legislation prior to the conference.[101]

In 2015, Reid received a lifetime achievement award from the League of Conservation Voters,[98] and the following year he was honored by the Conservation Lands Foundation for "historic contributions to conservation."[102]

Criticism of Mitt Romney

[edit]

During the summer of 2012, Reid said in an interview with The Huffington Post that he had received information from an unidentified investor in Bain Capital that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney did not pay any taxes for 10 years.[103] He repeated the accusation on the Senate floor on August 2, 2012.[104][105] According to CBS News, Romney stated, "Let me also say, categorically, I have paid taxes every year – and a lot of taxes. So Harry is simply wrong." PolitiFact.com's Truth-O-Meter rated the accusation as "Pants on Fire!"[106] The Washington Post's Fact Checker gave it "Four Pinnocchios".[107] CBS reported that Romney had submitted 23 years of tax returns to the John McCain campaign in 2008, when he was being vetted for the vice-presidential nomination. McCain said, "[n]othing in these tax returns showed that he did not pay taxes."[108] In a 2015 interview on the subject, Reid said "Romney didn't win, did he?" The following year, Reid called the attack "one of the best things I've ever done," while reiterating that Romney had not released his tax returns.[a][107] In 2021, Reid stated in an interview that after the 2012 election he and Mitt Romney and their wives met privately and reconciled, with Reid concluding that "I admire Mitt Romney. I think he's a very very fine human being."[109][110]

Cultural and political image

[edit]
Reid speaks during the third night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado

Part of Reid's confrontation with Frank Rosenthal while chair of the Nevada Gaming Commission is reenacted in the 1995 movie Casino.[111] Reid had a role in the movie Traffic (2000), in which he played himself.[112] He appeared, with Senators Sam Brownback and Barack Obama, in the 2007 documentary film Sand and Sorrow, which details the genocide in Sudan.[113]

Reid was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 2001.[114] In 2013, adviser Jim Margolis said of Reid, "He is unique in this city. And you see it in so many different ways. Is he the best TV talking head? No. He'd be the first to tell you that. Should he smile more? Yes. Should he say goodbye on the phone when he's done talking to you? Probably. But those are things you'd assume are part and parcel of a polished figure in Washington. That is not Harry Reid."[10]

Reid was known for his skills in political organizing and getting out the vote, and his voter coalition known as the "Reid Machine" was credited with being the driving force behind several statewide Democratic wins, including Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election in Nevada and Catherine Cortez Masto's election to succeed Reid in the concurrent Senate election.[115][116][117][118] A veteran of the Reid political machine, Megan K. Jones, has gone on to be a senior advisor to vice president and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.[119]

Harry Reid (formerly McCarran) International Airport, which serves the Las Vegas Valley, was named after Senator Reid on December 14, 2021, just two weeks prior to his death.[3]

Personal life

[edit]

Reid met his wife, Landra Gould, in high school. Gould was from a Jewish family and her parents objected to the relationship because Reid was not Jewish. The two eloped in 1959 when they were in college.[120] The Reids had five children; a daughter and four sons. Their eldest son, Rory, was an elected commissioner for Clark County, Nevada, of which he became chairman, and 2010 Democratic nominee in the election for Governor of Nevada.[121] Another son, Josh Reid, unsuccessfully sought municipal office in Cottonwood Heights, Utah.[122] In 2014 financial disclosure reports, Reid reported a net worth of between $2.9 million and $9.3 million.[123] Most of Reid's net worth was in municipal securities and in land and mineral rights in southern Nevada and Arizona; a blind trust managed the liquid assets of Reid and his wife.[123]

Harry Reid (far left) and LDS leaders Thomas S. Monson and Dallin H. Oaks (center and far right) presenting family history to U.S. President Barack Obama.

Reid lived in the Anthem area of Henderson, Nevada.[124] Reid (who was raised agnostic) and his wife (who was born to Jewish immigrant parents and grew up in Henderson) converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while he was a college student.[8] In a 2001 interview he said, "I think it is much easier to be a good member of the Church and a Democrat than a good member of the Church and a Republican." He went on to say that the Democrats' emphasis on helping others, as opposed to what he considered Republican dogma to the contrary, is the reason he was a Democrat.[125] He delivered a speech at Brigham Young University to about 4,000 students on October 9, 2007, in which he expressed his opinion that Democratic values mirror Mormon values.[126][127] Several Republican Mormons in Utah contested his faith because of his politics, such as his statements that the church's backing of California's Proposition 8 wasted resources.[128]

Reid was the co-chairman of the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service.[129] In April 2015, Reid confirmed former U.S. Senator Larry Pressler as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[130]

Health and death

[edit]

Injury

[edit]

On January 1, 2015, Reid was injured while exercising in his home—he said a piece of equipment he was using broke (later "slipped"), causing him to fall. As a result, he suffered broken ribs and broken facial bones, and was at risk of permanent vision loss in his right eye.[131] On January 26, 2015, he underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his right eye and repair facial bones.[132] He later sued a company he claimed manufactured the device, alleging the device was defective. In 2019, a jury rejected his claim for lack of evidence.[133][134]

Pancreatic cancer

[edit]

On May 14, 2018, Reid had surgery for pancreatic cancer at Johns Hopkins Cancer Center after a tumor was found on his pancreas during a routine screening.[135] In a January 2019 interview with The New York Times, it was revealed that he was confined to a desk at his home and was unable to move without the aid of a walker.[136] Upon his diagnosis, he said: "As soon as you discover you have something on your pancreas, you're dead."[136] On February 25, 2019, he announced that due to early detection and chemotherapy, his cancer was in remission.[137]

Death

[edit]

Reid died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Henderson on December 28, 2021, at the age of 82.[138][139] Following the news of his death, President Joe Biden and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton gave tributes to Reid.[140][141] Several of his former Senate colleagues also gave tributes, including Chuck Schumer, Patrick Leahy, Dick Durbin, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley and Mike Lee as well as Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak.[142] He lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda on January 12, 2022.[143]

Funeral

Headstone of Senator Harry Reid at Searchlight Cemetery. His parents' graves are to the right.

Reid's funeral was broadcast live on CNN and MSNBC with tributes by President Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and performances by Brandon Flowers and Carole King. He was interred in his family plot in Searchlight.[144][145]

Electoral history

[edit]
1982 United States House of Representatives elections[146]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Harry Reid 61,901 57.54%
Republican Peggy Cavnar 45,675 42.46%
Total votes 107,576 100.0%
Democratic win (new seat)
1984 United States House of Representatives elections[147]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Harry Reid (incumbent) 73,242 56.12%
Republican Peggy Cavnar 55,391 42.44%
Libertarian Joe Morris 1,885 1.44%
Total votes 130,518 100.0%
Democratic hold
1986 United States Senate elections[148]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Harry Reid 130,955 50.00% +12.61%
Republican Jim Santini 116,606 44.52% −14.01%
None of These Candidates 9,472 3.62% +2.33%
Libertarian Kent Cromwell 4,899 1.87% −0.94%
Majority 14,349 5.48% −15.66%
Turnout 261,932
Democratic gain from Republican
1992 United States Senate elections[149]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Harry Reid (Incumbent) 253,150 51.05% +1.05%
Republican Demar Dahl 199,413 40.21% −4.30%
None of These Candidates 13,154 2.65% −0.96%
Independent American Joe S. Garcia 11,240 2.27% N/A
Natural Law Lois Avery 7,279 1.47% N/A
Libertarian Kent Cromwell 7,222 1.46% −0.41%
Populist Harry Tootle 4,429 0.89% N/A
Majority 53,737 10.84% +5.36%
Turnout 495,887
Democratic hold
1998 United States Senate elections[150]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Harry Reid (Incumbent) 208,650 47.88% −3.19%
Republican John Ensign 208,222 47.78% +7.56%
Libertarian Michael Cloud 8,129 1.87% +0.41%
None of These Candidates 8,113 1.86% −0.79%
Natural Law Michael E. Williams 2,781 0.64% −0.83%
Majority 401 0.09% −10.74%
Turnout 435,864
Democratic hold
2004 United States Senate elections[151]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Harry Reid (Incumbent) 494,805 61.08% +13.22%
Republican Richard Ziser 284,640 35.14% −12.63%
None of These Candidates 12,968 1.60% −0.26%
Libertarian Thomas L. Hurst 9,559 1.18% −0.69%
Independent American Party (Nevada) David K. Schumann 6,001 0.74% N/A
Natural Law Gary Marinch 2,095 0.26% −0.38%
Majority 210,165 25.94% +25.85%
Turnout 810,068
Democratic hold
Nevada Democratic primary results, 2010[152]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Harry Reid (Incumbent) 87,401 75.3%
Democratic None of these 12,341 10.6%
Democratic Alex Miller 9,717 8.4%
Democratic Eduardo Hamilton 4,645 4.0%
Democratic Carlo Poliak 1,938 1.7%
Total votes 116,042 100.00%
2010 United States Senate elections[153][154]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Harry Reid (Incumbent) 362,785 50.29% −10.84%
Republican Sharron Angle 321,361 44.55% +9.45%
None of These Candidates 16,174 2.25% +0.65%
Tea Party of Nevada Scott Ashjian 5,811 0.81% N/A
Independent Michael L. Haines 4,261 0.59% N/A
Independent American Timothy Fasano 3,185 0.44% N/A
Independent Jesse Holland 3,175 0.44% N/A
Independent Jeffery C. Reeves 2,510 0.35% N/A
Independent Wil Stand 2,119 0.29% N/A
Majority 41,424 5.74%
Total votes 721,381 100.00% −11.14%
Democratic hold

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Harry Reid

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from Grokipedia
Harry Mason Reid Jr. (December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who represented Nevada as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1987 and in the United States Senate from 1987 to 2017.[1] As a Democrat, he ascended to Senate party leadership, serving as minority leader from 2005 to 2007 and 2015 to 2017, and as majority leader from 2007 to 2015, during which he chaired key committees including Ethics and Appropriations.[1] Born into poverty in the remote mining town of Searchlight, Nevada, to parents who worked in mills and as a gas station attendant, Reid graduated from Utah State University in 1962 and earned a law degree from George Washington University in 1964, supporting himself partly as a Capitol police officer.[1] His early career in Nevada politics included terms in the state assembly from 1968 to 1972, service as lieutenant governor from 1970 to 1972, and as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission from 1977 to 1981, where he confronted organized crime influences in Las Vegas casinos through aggressive enforcement.[1] These experiences shaped his pragmatic, combative approach, evident in federal office where he prioritized Nevada's interests, such as blocking the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository—a decision rooted in local opposition but criticized for overriding scientific consensus on safe storage.[2] Reid's Senate leadership facilitated passage of major legislation, including the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for economic stimulus and the 2010 Affordable Care Act via budget reconciliation to bypass filibuster threats, though these moves deepened partisan divides by limiting minority input.[3] In 2013, he orchestrated the "nuclear option," a rules change eliminating filibusters for most executive and judicial nominations, which expedited Democratic appointments but eroded long-standing Senate norms against majority overreach, prompting Republican vows of reciprocity.[1] His tenure also featured pointed criticisms of opponents, such as unsubstantiated 2012 claims about Mitt Romney's tax payments that he declined to retract, underscoring a style prioritizing political advantage over decorum.[4] Despite such controversies, Reid's advocacy secured billions in federal funds for Nevada's infrastructure, renewable energy expansion, and land conservation, cementing his status as the state's most enduring congressional figure.[4]

Early life and education

Childhood in Searchlight

Harry Mason Reid Jr. was born on December 2, 1939, in Searchlight, Nevada, a remote desert mining town with a population of approximately 800, situated about 60 miles south of Las Vegas.[5][6] The third of four sons to Harry Reid Sr., a hard-rock miner and occasional gas station attendant plagued by alcoholism and frequent unemployment, and Inez Jaynes Reid, a laundress who serviced local brothels, Reid grew up amid acute economic deprivation.[7][8] The family's tarpaper home lacked indoor plumbing, electricity, and hot water, underscoring the raw survival demands of rural Nevada's declining mining economy, where prostitution formed a significant local industry.[8][6] Reid's early exposure to boxing, through participation in amateur bouts during his teenage years, provided a structured outlet for the physical and mental rigors of his circumstances, fostering traits of endurance and strategic confrontation.[9][10] These experiences in a harsh, isolated setting emphasized personal agency and resilience over dependence on institutional support, as the town's limited infrastructure left families to confront poverty through individual grit rather than systemic intervention.[11] The intergenerational weight of these hardships manifested later when Reid's father, enduring chronic depression and financial strain, died by suicide in 1972 at age 58 via self-inflicted gunshot.[5][12] This outcome, amid a lifetime of unstable employment and substance issues, illustrated the unyielding causal pressures of economic marginalization on working-class miners in mid-20th-century Nevada.[8][13]

Military service and higher education

Reid attended the College of Southern Utah (now Southern Utah University) following high school graduation, earning an associate's degree in political science in May 1959.[14] He then transferred to Utah State University on an athletic scholarship, completing a bachelor's degree there in 1961.[15] [16] In 1961, Reid relocated to Washington, D.C., to pursue a Juris Doctor at George Washington University Law School, which he received in 1964.[1] To finance his studies, he worked full-time as a uniformed officer for the United States Capitol Police from 1961 to 1964.[2] [17] This role immersed him in the operations of the federal government, offering a stark contrast to his origins in remote, rural Nevada.[18]

Pre-federal career

Legal practice

Reid earned his Juris Doctor from George Washington University Law School in 1964 and was admitted to the Nevada State Bar that same year, though some records indicate admission in 1963 prior to graduation.[1][19] Upon returning to Nevada with his family, he took the position of city attorney for Henderson from 1964 to 1966, where he revised the city's charter, advocated for infrastructure improvements such as water line extensions, and handled municipal legal matters including ordinance enforcement.[1][20] Following his tenure as city attorney, Reid established a private law practice in Henderson starting around 1967, focusing on personal injury cases, criminal defense, and other local litigation to build connections within Clark County's legal and business communities.[21][22] This practical experience in courtroom advocacy and client representation provided Reid with insights into bureaucratic obstacles in Nevada's legal system, which he later cited as motivating his entry into elective politics.[21] His legal work emphasized hands-on problem-solving over abstract policy, reflecting a pragmatic approach shaped by the demands of small-town practice in a growing region.[23]

Nevada state offices

Reid won election to the Nevada State Assembly in November 1968 at age 28, securing a seat representing Clark County and serving during the 1969 and 1971 legislative sessions until 1972.[24] In the Assembly, a Democrat-majority body amid Nevada's emerging urban growth challenges, he partnered with freshman colleague Richard Bryan to advance consumer protection initiatives, anti-crime provisions, and the state's inaugural air pollution control legislation, addressing pollution from expanding Las Vegas industries.[25][13] Seeking higher office, Reid joined the 1970 Democratic ticket as the gubernatorial running mate of Mike O'Callaghan, a former boxing commissioner and political outsider who defeated Republican incumbent Paul Laxalt.[26] Elected as Nevada's youngest lieutenant governor at age 30, Reid assumed office in January 1971 and served until resigning in mid-1974.[27] In the role, which carried limited formal powers but involved presiding over the state senate and handling gubernatorial assignments, Reid maintained a collaborative relationship with O'Callaghan, facilitating pragmatic governance on local priorities like infrastructure amid Nevada's water scarcity and rapid population influx from tourism and migration.[25] This era exemplified Nevada's bipartisan pragmatism, as Democrats like Reid and O'Callaghan navigated a legislature and electorate often split with Republicans, prioritizing resource management over partisan gridlock.[28] Reid resigned the lieutenant governorship in 1974 to pursue the open U.S. Senate seat vacated by retiring Democrat Alan Bible, first prevailing in the Democratic primary over environmentalist Maya Miller and others before losing the general election to Laxalt by a slim margin of 624 votes, confirmed after a statewide recount.[29][30] These early state roles underscored Reid's deal-making approach in a politically competitive Nevada, where cross-aisle cooperation was essential for advancing gaming oversight precursors and basic infrastructure amid the state's dependence on limited federal land and water allocations.[8] Following his 1974 Senate defeat, Governor O'Callaghan appointed Reid as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission in 1977, a position he held until 1981. In this role, Reid led efforts to eradicate organized crime's control over Las Vegas casinos, including skimming operations at properties like the Stardust, through collaboration with the FBI on investigations, wiretaps, and undercover stings. He faced intense retaliation, including death threats, bombs discovered under his and fellow commissioner George Swarts' vehicles, and surveillance by mob figures. These actions contributed to the removal of mafia influences, enabling the industry's shift toward corporate ownership and regulatory legitimacy.[31][32]

U.S. House of Representatives

1983–1987 term

Reid was elected to represent Nevada's 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 2, 1982, general election, succeeding retiring independent incumbent Jim Santini; he took office on January 3, 1983.[17] The district encompassed Clark County, including the rapidly expanding Las Vegas metropolitan area, amid Nevada's population growth driven by tourism and migration.[33] Reid, a Democrat, defeated Republican Peggy West in a competitive race, capitalizing on his state-level experience and local recognition from prior roles as lieutenant governor and gaming commissioner.[17] Reid won reelection on November 6, 1984, against Republican challenger Joseph McCloskey by a margin of 58% to 42%, benefiting from President Ronald Reagan's Nevada coattails in the statewide presidential vote but maintaining Democratic loyalty in the urban district.[17] As a freshman representative, he secured assignments to the House Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs and the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, positions that aligned with Nevada's economic priorities in gaming, mining, and federal land management.[3] Reid advocated for legislation addressing regional infrastructure, including efforts to secure federal funding for water allocation and power generation at Hoover Dam, which provided critical resources for Southern Nevada's growth amid disputes over Colorado River apportionment.[34] On nuclear waste policy, Reid initially supported aspects of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, which designated potential sites for high-level radioactive waste repositories, including preliminary studies at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, viewing it as an opportunity for federal investment in the economically dependent state.[35] However, as local opposition mounted over environmental and safety risks, he shifted toward scrutinizing the project's impacts during his House tenure, introducing measures to ensure state input and economic offsets.[36] These efforts highlighted Reid's focus on balancing federal initiatives with Nevada's interests, positioning him as a defender of state sovereignty against distant bureaucratic decisions. In 1986, amid a national Democratic midterm wave, Reid announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Paul Laxalt, facing former Las Vegas mayor and state legislator Chic Hecht in the November 4 general election.[37] The race was exceptionally close, with Reid securing victory by just 652 votes (50.0% to 49.7%), or approximately 0.3 percentage points, after recounts confirmed the outcome; Democrats attributed the win to anti-incumbent sentiment and gains in urban turnout, despite Nevada's Republican presidential leanings in prior cycles.[37][36] This narrow triumph, coupled with his House record on federal land and resource issues, elevated Reid's profile for higher office as Nevada transitioned from a rural mining state to an urban powerhouse.[34] Reid's House term concluded on January 3, 1987, upon his transition to the Senate.[17]

U.S. Senate career

Elections and initial terms (1987–2005)

Reid was elected to the United States Senate in the 1986 Nevada election, securing 50.4 percent of the vote against Republican R. Hal Smith, who received 49.6 percent, in a contest that flipped the seat from Republican control following incumbent Paul Laxalt's retirement.[37] The narrow victory, by fewer than 2,000 votes out of approximately 240,000 cast, highlighted Nevada's competitive political landscape and Reid's ability to mobilize support in a state with significant mining and gaming industry interests.[37] In his 1992 reelection bid, Reid defeated Republican Jack Schrade with 53 percent of the vote to Schrade's 42 percent, after prevailing in the Democratic primary against several challengers.[38] This outcome, amid a national Democratic wave, allowed Reid to build seniority in the minority party, emphasizing Nevada-specific priorities like federal land management and water rights critical to the state's arid environment and extractive industries. During his initial terms, Reid secured assignments to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where he advocated for balanced approaches to public lands policy, often resisting stringent environmental regulations that could hinder mining operations and gaming development in Nevada.[3] The 1998 election proved Reid's closest challenge, as he edged out Republican Representative John Ensign by just 459 votes—208,579 (47.9 percent) to 208,120 (47.7 percent)—in initial tallies, with the margin confirmed after a mandatory recount under Nevada law.[39][40] Independent and third-party candidates captured the remainder, underscoring voter dissatisfaction and the race's intensity, fueled by national GOP momentum under President Bill Clinton's impeachment. Reid's focus remained on bipartisan efforts, including his yes vote on the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which expanded federal policing and prison funding, and the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which imposed work requirements and time limits on welfare benefits—legislation he helped negotiate across party lines.[41][42][43] Reid won a more decisive victory in 2004, defeating Republican Richard Ziser 61.1 percent to 35.1 percent, bolstered by his incumbency and Nevada's growing population favoring Democratic economic policies.[44] Through these campaigns, Reid cultivated a reputation for pragmatic deal-making on state issues, such as securing federal funding for water projects and Yucca Mountain oversight, while maintaining support from gaming unions and mining stakeholders wary of federal overreach. His early Senate tenure reflected a degree of bipartisanship, with cross-aisle votes on crime and welfare preceding sharper partisan divides after the September 11 attacks.[3]

Rise to leadership and majority/minority leader roles (2005–2017)

Following the Republican gains in the 2004 Senate elections, which resulted in the defeat of Democratic Minority Leader Tom Daschle, Senate Democrats elected Harry Reid as their new leader on November 16, 2004; he assumed the role of Senate Minority Leader at the start of the 109th Congress on January 3, 2005.[45][46] In this position, Reid focused on coordinating Democratic opposition to the Republican majority under Majority Leader Bill Frist, emphasizing procedural tactics to delay or amend legislation while maintaining party unity amid internal divisions.[46] The 2006 midterm elections shifted control to Democrats, who gained a net of six seats, enabling Reid to become Senate Majority Leader on January 3, 2007, at the outset of the 110th Congress.[46] Reid retained the majority leadership through the 111th (2009–2011), 112th (2011–2013), and 113th (2013–2015) Congresses, navigating a period of narrow Democratic majorities and intensified partisan gridlock, particularly after the 2010 Tea Party wave that flipped the House to Republican control.[46] To advance priorities, Reid employed budget reconciliation procedures, which require only a simple majority and are immune to filibuster, for key fiscal measures, including the 2010 health care reform package.[8] A pivotal institutional shift occurred on November 21, 2013, when Reid invoked the "nuclear option," securing a 52–48 vote to eliminate the filibuster for most executive branch and lower federal court nominees, reducing the confirmation threshold from 60 votes to a simple majority of 51.[47][48] This rules change, justified by Democrats as a response to Republican blocks on President Obama's nominees, fundamentally altered Senate precedents established since the 1940s, facilitating over 200 confirmations in the ensuing months but drawing criticism for eroding minority protections.[47][49] The 2014 elections delivered Republican majorities in both chambers, with the GOP gaining nine Senate seats; Reid transitioned back to Minority Leader on January 3, 2015, for the 114th Congress, where he continued to wield influence through filibuster leverage against the new majority under Mitch McConnell.[46] On January 1, 2015, Reid sustained severe injuries in a home exercise accident involving a resistance band, fracturing facial bones, ribs, and his right orbit, ultimately resulting in permanent blindness in his right eye after multiple surgeries.[50][51] Citing health concerns from the injury, Reid announced his retirement on March 27, 2015, endorsing Chuck Schumer as successor, and concluded his Senate service on January 3, 2017.[50][46]

Key committee assignments and legislative priorities

Reid served on the Senate Appropriations Committee from his early terms, enabling him to steer federal funding toward Nevada-specific infrastructure and defense projects, such as securing allocations for Nellis Air Force Base expansions and water resource developments.[8][52] This role positioned him to advocate for earmarks, including $1.5 billion in annual Nevada defense spending by the mid-2000s, though his leadership duties later limited direct subcommittee involvement.[52] As a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence during multiple congresses, including the 111th and 114th, Reid contributed to oversight of intelligence operations, such as reviewing CIA programs and authorizing budgets exceeding $50 billion annually post-9/11.[53][54] In leadership, he influenced without formal chairmanship, prioritizing reforms like enhanced congressional access to classified briefings amid disputes over CIA-Senate interactions.[55] A key priority was blocking the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository; Reid sponsored amendments defunding the project starting in 2005, culminating in the Obama administration's 2010 termination, which halted $15 billion in prior investments and left 80,000 tons of waste without a federal site, increasing storage costs at existing facilities by an estimated $500 million annually.[56][57] Reid advanced renewable energy through bills like the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which allocated $90 billion for clean energy incentives, including Department of Energy loan guarantees that funded Solyndra's $535 million project—resulting in bankruptcy in 2011 and a $528 million taxpayer loss after failed commercialization of thin-film solar technology.[58][59] In financial policy, he voted for the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act on November 4, 1999 (90-8), repealing Glass-Steagall separations and enabling bank expansions that correlated with a 40% rise in financial sector assets-to-GDP ratio by 2007, preceding the crisis with $8 trillion in household wealth losses.[60] He supported the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), authorizing $700 billion for bank stabilizations that averted systemic collapse but incurred initial outlays repaid at a net cost of $32 billion after recoveries, while facilitating executive bonuses exceeding $18 billion.[61][62]

Major controversies

Partisan rhetoric and personal attacks

In August 2012, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid claimed on the Senate floor that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had not paid any federal income taxes for ten years, citing an unnamed "extremely credible source" but providing no evidence.[63] [64] Romney's released tax returns showed he paid an effective rate of 20.7% in 2011 and 13.7% in 2010, contradicting the allegation, which Reid later defended without apology in a 2015 interview, arguing it pressured Romney to release more returns. [65] Reid frequently employed derogatory language toward Republican leaders, including calling President George W. Bush "a loser" in May 2005 during a discussion with high school students in Las Vegas, a remark he later apologized for but which aligned with his pattern of personal invective.[66] [67] He also labeled Bush a "liar" in reference to Iraq War intelligence and never retracted that charge.[68] On Iraq policy, Reid declared in April 2007 that "this war is lost" and supported legislation to cut off combat funding by March 2008, though such measures failed amid Democratic divisions.[69] [70] In November 2007, he conditioned further war funding on Bush recalling troops from Iraq, escalating partisan standoffs over appropriations.[71] Reid's rhetoric extended to dismissing conservative movements as fringe while tolerating left-leaning protests; in his 2010 reelection campaign against Tea Party-backed Sharron Angle, he portrayed her positions—such as opposing Social Security and Medicare expansions—as emblematic of extremist views, framing the Tea Party as a threat to mainstream governance without similar scrutiny of Democratic initiatives.[72] [73] By contrast, in November 2011, Reid echoed Occupy Wall Street grievances on the Senate floor, decrying income inequality and Republican opposition to financial regulations as barriers to economic justice, thereby aligning with the movement's unstructured demonstrations amid reports of public disorder.[74] Despite his lifelong membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Reid publicly criticized the institution, including in October 2009 when he faulted Mormon donors for supporting California's Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage, urging the church to reconsider its stance during a meeting with gay-rights advocates.[75] In 2007, he accused right-wing influences of leading LDS members "down the wrong path" on social issues, prioritizing Democratic emphases on government responsibility over traditional church teachings.[76] Following the 2010 midterms, where Democrats lost the House amid voter backlash to policies like the Affordable Care Act, Reid attributed gridlock to Republican "irresponsibility" in filibusters and debt ceiling negotiations, sidestepping internal Democratic overreach such as stimulus spending exceeding $800 billion.[77] This framing persisted, as Reid later blamed GOP dynamics for broader dysfunction, including the rise of Donald Trump in 2016.[78] Such tactics contributed to heightened partisan toxicity, prioritizing accusation over bipartisan compromise.

Ethical and financial allegations

Reid's sons, including Rory and Key, engaged in lobbying activities in Nevada, which drew scrutiny for potential influence peddling given their father's prominent role in federal politics. A 2003 Los Angeles Times investigation highlighted how the family name facilitated client access for the Lionel Sawyer & Collins firm, where the sons worked, though Reid maintained that his relatives did not lobby his office directly after he sponsored 2007 ethics reforms prohibiting such contacts.[79][80] In October 2006, Reid realized a $1.1 million profit from selling a 20-acre parcel near Las Vegas to a casino developer, a transaction he initially described in Senate disclosures as a "gift" rather than a sale, prompting amendments to his financial reports after public and watchdog complaints.[81][82] The deal involved land held in a trust with friend Clair Haycock, valued at around $55,000 when acquired decades earlier, and raised questions about favorable zoning influences during Reid's tenure, though no wrongdoing was proven and FactCheck.org deemed related campaign attacks misleading absent evidence of illegality.[83] The proposed ENN Mojave Energy solar project, a $5 billion initiative by Chinese firm ENN Energy Holdings to develop a facility on 9,000 acres in rural Nevada, involved Rory Reid's law firm in site acquisition and drew pay-to-play accusations due to Harry Reid's public advocacy, including pressuring NV Energy in 2012 to commit to purchasing power at above-market rates.[84][85] Critics, including Nevada media outlets, alleged cronyism, noting the project's alignment with Reid's green energy priorities and family ties, though the deal collapsed by 2013 without federal subsidies or construction, and Snopes rated direct links to unrelated events like the Bundy ranch standoff as unproven.[86] Lobbyist F. Harvey Whittemore, a longtime Reid donor and developer of the Capitol Gateway project near Washington, D.C., was indicted in 2012 and convicted in 2014 on federal charges of funneling over $1 million in illegal campaign contributions to Reid's PAC via family and employees, disguising them as legitimate.[87] Reid returned the tainted funds upon learning of the scheme and cooperated with investigators, facing no charges himself, but the case underscored risks of bundling by influential Nevada figures with access to his campaigns.[88] During Reid's U.S. House tenure from 1983 to 1987, no House Ethics Committee investigations culminated in formal sanctions against him, though subsequent Senate-era disclosure lapses, such as the land sale amendments, prompted internal reviews without penalties.[89] Post-retirement in 2017, the renaming of McCarran International Airport to Harry Reid International in 2021 followed lobbying by allies and family, amid claims from opponents of undue favoritism given ongoing Nevada infrastructure influence, but the change was enacted by Congress without documented ethical probes.[90]

Institutional changes and policy maneuvers

In November 2013, as Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid invoked the "nuclear option" to alter Senate rules, allowing confirmation of most executive branch and lower federal court nominees by a simple majority vote rather than the traditional 60-vote supermajority threshold required to overcome a filibuster.[91] This procedural change, approved 52-48 along party lines, addressed Republican filibusters against President Obama's nominees, filling vacancies including three on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.[47] However, it eroded the filibuster's role as a bipartisan safeguard, setting a precedent for reciprocal use by Republicans in 2017 to confirm Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and later nominees, contributing to heightened partisan gridlock and diminished incentives for cross-aisle negotiation in subsequent Congresses.[49] Reid also employed budget reconciliation—a procedure limited to fiscal matters and immune to filibuster—to advance the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, enabling its passage with a 51-vote majority after the Senate bill cleared without the 60 votes needed for cloture on non-budget elements.[92] This maneuver bypassed broader debate on the ACA's mandates and expansions, though reconciliation was confined to revenue and spending adjustments. Similarly, Reid defended the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), a $831 billion stimulus package enacted via reconciliation to counter the financial crisis, claiming it averted deeper recession despite empirical analyses indicating modest GDP multipliers—often below 1.0 for certain expenditures—and high per-job costs exceeding $250,000 when including less productive outlays like education transfers.[93] [94] Long-term fiscal analyses have linked such deficit-financed interventions to sustained debt burdens without proportional sustained growth, amplifying intergenerational costs amid already rising entitlements.[95] As leader, Reid frequently utilized Senate procedures to obstruct Republican-priority legislation, including blocking comprehensive immigration reform bills and gun rights expansions favored by GOP members, such as concealed carry reciprocity measures, by refusing to schedule floor votes or amendments that could expose intra-party divisions.[96] [97] This tactical restraint preserved Democratic unity but stifled potential bipartisan compromises, exacerbating legislative stasis on issues like border security enhancements and Second Amendment protections. In financial policy, Reid supported the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, which imposed stricter regulations on banks post-2008 crisis, yet his earlier backing of the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act—repealing Depression-era separations between commercial and investment banking—aligned with bipartisan deregulation that analyses attribute to heightened systemic risk and leverage preceding the meltdown.[98] [99] These shifts reflect Reid's prioritization of majority-rule efficiency over institutional norms, fostering a cycle of retaliatory procedural escalations and policy entrenchment with enduring economic and polarizational repercussions.

Personal life

Family and religious background

Harry Reid married Landra Joy Gould on September 12, 1959, in Henderson, Nevada; the couple eloped while both were students at Utah State University.[100][101] They had five children: daughter Lana Reid Barringer and sons Rory, Leif, Josh, and Key.[8] Rory Reid served as a Clark County commissioner from 2003 to 2011 and ran unsuccessfully for Nevada governor in 2010.[102] The Reids had 19 grandchildren at the time of Harry Reid's death.[8][103] Family members pursued careers in politics, law, and business, reflecting Reid's own emphasis on public service and economic opportunity in Nevada. Reid was raised in a largely nonreligious household in Searchlight, Nevada, with his father, Harry Reid Sr., expressing agnostic views and his mother, Inez, holding nominal ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) but not actively practicing.[27] Landra Gould, who came from a Jewish background, and Reid converted to the LDS Church during their college years after being introduced to the faith through missionaries and the Book of Mormon.[27][104] Reid identified publicly as a Mormon throughout his career, participating in church activities such as home teaching and distributing copies of the Book of Mormon to colleagues, though his progressive political positions often strained relations with more conservative church members.[104][105] Tensions arose notably in 2008 when Reid publicly criticized the LDS Church's heavy involvement in supporting California's Proposition 8, a ballot measure banning same-sex marriage, describing the church's expenditure of resources and volunteer efforts as wasteful and damaging to goodwill.[106][75][107] He argued that such political activism diverted from core charitable works and exacerbated divisions, a stance that drew backlash from fellow Mormons who viewed his support for Democratic policies on issues like same-sex marriage as incompatible with orthodox teachings.[105] Despite these conflicts, Reid maintained his affiliation with the church, framing his liberalism as aligned with a distinct tradition of progressive Mormonism.[108]

Health decline, retirement, and death

On January 1, 2015, Reid suffered severe injuries during an exercise session at his home when an elastic resistance band snapped, striking him in the face and causing him to fall; this resulted in multiple broken ribs, fractured facial bones, and eventual permanent loss of vision in his right eye.[109][110][111] The injuries significantly impaired Reid's health and contributed to his decision to retire from the Senate; in a 2019 court testimony related to a lawsuit against the band manufacturer, he stated that the accident effectively ended his ability to continue serving effectively, leading him to forgo re-election in 2016 and retire at the end of his term in January 2017.[112][113] In May 2018, Reid was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and underwent surgery on May 14 at Johns Hopkins Hospital to remove the tumor from his pancreas.[27][114] He received subsequent chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and in June 2020 reported being in complete remission following an experimental procedure.[115][116] Reid died on December 28, 2021, at age 82 in Henderson, Nevada, after the cancer recurred and progressed over four years.[27][117][8] A public memorial service was held on January 8, 2022, in Las Vegas, attended by President Joe Biden and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, among others.[118][119] He was buried in a private family ceremony at Searchlight Cemetery in his hometown of Searchlight, Nevada.[120][121]

Legacy and assessment

Contributions to Nevada and Democratic politics

Reid directed hundreds of millions in federal dollars toward Nevada infrastructure projects during his congressional tenure, including expansions at what was then McCarran International Airport to accommodate growing tourism traffic.[122] These efforts supported the state's aviation sector, which handled over 58 million passengers annually by the mid-2010s, bolstering Las Vegas as a tourism hub.[122] Posthumously, the airport was renamed Harry Reid International Airport on December 14, 2021, recognizing his role in facilitating such developments amid Nevada's economic reliance on visitor spending exceeding $60 billion yearly.[123] [124] He secured funding for Nevada's military installations, including Nellis Air Force Base and Creech Air Force Base, totaling millions over his career to maintain operations and personnel readiness for over 10,000 troops.[125] This preserved jobs and economic activity in rural areas, where bases contributed billions to the state GDP. Reid also advanced tourism through legislation establishing Great Basin National Park in 1986, enhancing ecotourism while protecting natural assets like Lake Tahoe from overdevelopment.[126] In water resource management, Reid prioritized resolving longstanding disputes, facilitating the Truckee River Operating Agreement in 2008, which allocated resources among Nevada stakeholders, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, and California to prevent shortages amid population growth from 2 million in 1990 to over 3 million by 2017.[127] [23] He supported related compacts dividing Truckee River flows, enabling sustainable development in arid Northern Nevada. On gaming, as Nevada Gaming Commission chairman in the 1970s and later as senator, Reid shielded the industry from federal overreach, advocating regulated online poker legalization efforts by 2012 to adapt to digital shifts without undermining Las Vegas's $10 billion-plus annual casino revenue.[128] [129] Within Democratic politics, Reid mentored rising Nevada figures and leveraged his Senate influence to flip and hold seats, aiding Jacky Rosen's 2018 victory and Catherine Cortez Masto's 2016 succession to his position through targeted fundraising and strategic endorsements exceeding $10 million in cycles.[130] These gains solidified Democratic control of Nevada's congressional delegation by 2017, though often via aggressive tactics like blocking Republican nominees. His machine-building elevated the party from minority status in the 1980s to dominating state offices, fostering a pipeline that sustained Senate majorities amid national shifts.[131]

Criticisms and policy failures

Reid's leadership as Senate Majority Leader from 2007 to 2015 contributed to heightened partisanship, with critics attributing to him a role in eroding Senate norms through aggressive procedural maneuvers, such as the 2013 "nuclear option" that eliminated the filibuster for most executive and judicial nominations, setting precedents for future escalations in confirmation battles.[49][132] This shift, often called the "Reid Precedent," reduced minority party leverage and intensified gridlock, as evidenced by subsequent Republican retaliation in 2017 to apply it to Supreme Court justices, fostering a cycle of institutional acrimony that prioritized partisan victories over bipartisan deliberation.[133] Under Reid's stewardship, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) passed the Senate in December 2009 via budget reconciliation to evade a filibuster, imposing mandates and expanding coverage at an initial projected cost of $848 billion over a decade according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).[134][135] Despite claims of deficit reduction, the law's individual and employer mandates increased financial burdens on middle-class households, with subsequent analyses showing premium hikes averaging 105% in the individual market from 2013 to 2017 before subsidies, disproportionately affecting non-subsidized families and contradicting assurances of affordability.[136] Reid's staunch opposition to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, including defunding its 2010 license application by $27 million in appropriations bills, effectively halted the project despite its selection under the 1987 Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act, delaying safe spent fuel storage and impeding nuclear energy expansion critical for reducing fossil fuel dependence.[137] This action, rooted in Nevada's parochial interests, exacerbated national waste storage bottlenecks, with over 80,000 metric tons of spent fuel accumulating at reactor sites by 2020, stalling new reactor approvals and contributing to higher energy costs without viable alternatives.[138] Reid supported the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and auto industry bailouts, including a $17.4 billion bridge loan package for General Motors and Chrysler, which critics argued amplified moral hazard by rewarding risky behavior with taxpayer funds totaling $81 billion for automakers, ultimately repaid but at the cost of distorting market incentives and prioritizing politically connected firms over fiscal discipline.[139][140] In Nevada, Reid's influence correlated with expanded federal dependencies, as state welfare and entitlement spending surged amid economic downturns, outpacing efforts toward self-reliance and leaving unfunded liabilities that strained local budgets for education and infrastructure.[141]

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  66. Reid called Bush "liar," stood by comment UPDATE - POLITICO
  67. Senator Reid On Iraq: "This War Is Lost" - CBS News
  68. Reid signs on to bill that would cut Iraq funding - The Hill
  69. Reid: No Iraq funds unless Bush recalls troops - NBC News
  70. Harry Reid, Sharron Angle and the end of the Tea Party myth - The Hill
  71. Nev. Sen. Reid Beats Tea Party-Backed Angle : NPR
  72. Reid echoes Occupy Wall Street on Senate Floor
  73. Reid Criticizes Mormon Church for Proposition 8 Support | Fox News
  74. Right-wingers have taken LDS Church members down 'wrong path'
  75. Reid's botched battles - POLITICO
  76. Harry Reid Says GOP Is to Blame for Donald Trump as Republicans ...
  77. In Nevada, the Name to Know is Reid - Los Angeles Times
  78. In Congress, relatives lobby on bills before family members
  79. Sen. Reid Made $1.1M In Land Deal - CBS News
  80. Sen. Reid defends million dollar Vegas land deal - NBC News
  81. Angle Misleads on 'Ethics Loopholes,' 'Shady' Land Deal
  82. U.S. Senator Reid, son combine for China firm's desert plant | Reuters
  83. Power play: Buy that solar – or else? | Editorials | Opinion
  84. Harry Reid, Chinese Company Behind Nevada Ranch Standoff
  85. Lobbyist indicted for Reid donations - POLITICO
  86. Whittemore lawyers say Reid note, other evidence obtained without ...
  87. Reid to amend his $1.1M land deal ethics report - NBC News
  88. Ethics complaint filed against Reid as GOP, Dems ramp up election ...
  89. Senate goes for 'nuclear option' - POLITICO
  90. Harry Reid's complicated legacy | CNN Politics
  91. Impact of 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA ...
  92. Estimates of the Effects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment ...
  93. Preparing for the Next Recession: Lessons from the American ...
  94. Reid bashes Republicans for a position on immigration that he once ...
  95. Senator Harry Reid and Guns: Time to Take a Stand | Truthout
  96. The Moral Pugilism of Harry Reid - POLITICO
  97. Money and Votes Aligned in Congress's Last Debate Over Bank ...
  98. Harry Reid Fast Facts - WRAL.com
  99. Harry Mason Reid Jr. | Obituary - Beyond the Dash
  100. Rory Reid - Ballotpedia
  101. Harry Reid, who led Senate Democrats for 12 years, dies at 82
  102. Was Harry Reid a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter ...
  103. Reid: No group is harder on me than fellow Mormons
  104. Report: Reid chides Mormon Prop 8 backers - POLITICO
  105. Reid rips LDS Church's Prop. 8 support - The Salt Lake Tribune
  106. Harry Reid's death may mark the end of the liberal Mormon tradition
  107. Harry Reid breaks ribs, facial bones in exercising accident - CNN
  108. Harry Reid Is Hospitalized After Exercise Accident
  109. Harry Reid suffers broken facial bones exercising
  110. Harry Reid testifies exercise device injury cost him Senate - AP News
  111. Las Vegas memorial service for Harry Reid set for Jan. 8 - KOLN
  112. Former Senate leader Harry Reid undergoes surgery for pancreatic ...
  113. 'I feel good. I'm alive': Two years after diagnosis, Harry Reid says ...
  114. Alex Trebek, Harry Reid and Their Pancreatic Cancer Treatment
  115. Nevada's Harry Reid, longtime Senate Democratic leader, dies - NPR
  116. Biden, Obama among those to eulogize Senate titan Harry Reid at ...
  117. Pelosi Remarks at the Funeral of Senator Harry Reid
  118. Harry Reid buried in family ceremony in Searchlight, Nevada
  119. Harry Reid (1939-2021) - Find a Grave Memorial
  120. Reid was Nevada's go-to lawmaker for gaming, tourism and ...
  121. Las Vegas airport renamed for former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid
  122. Southern Nevada's Commercial Airport Officially Renamed Harry ...
  123. [PDF] TRIBUTES TO HON. HARRY REID - GovInfo
  124. Tourism has lost a trusted friend in Harry Reid - Travel Weekly
  125. [PDF] A Look Back at the Truckee River Operating Agreement
  126. Loved or hated, Harry Reid played an important role in protecting ...
  127. Harry Reid's Internet poker gamble - POLITICO
  128. The Centrist Who Taught the Left | The Nation
  129. Harry Reid, retiring but betting big on Nevada for Democratic Senate ...
  130. How Harry Reid Broke the Senate - Reason Magazine
  131. [PDF] THE SENATE IN TRANSITION OR HOW I LEARNED TO STOP ...
  132. Senate Says Health Plan Will Cover Another 31 Million
  133. New bid to topple Obamacare in court: Did Harry Reid bend the rules?
  134. [PDF] Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Incorporating the ...
  135. Reid proclaims 'fatal blow' to Yucca Mountain | News
  136. Yucca Mountain and Nuclear Waste Policy: A New Beginning?
  137. POLITICO NOW Blog
  138. [PDF] The Rescue of the US Auto Industry, Module A: Automotive Bridge ...
  139. Harry Reid: His real impact on Nevada
  140. Harry Reid battled the Mob in Nevada before he fought for Nevada in Washington
  141. Threats, Bombs and Stings
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