Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Pool / EFE
Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Pool / EFE
The remains of the late Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid
Reid lay in the Capitol Rotunda as congressional leaders paid tribute to the former senator from Nevada who died on 28 from December to 82 years.
Reid’s coffin was carried away by a hearse, escorted by the honor guard and followed by his family.
Reid was the longest-serving senator in Nevada history and presided over the Senate as the majority leader of 2007 to 2015. He earned a reputation for soft-spoken toughness as he worked his way from the office of Nevada’s lieutenant governor to the top of the Senate.
The Coffin de Reid was placed on the Lincoln catafalque, first used as a support for Abraham Lincoln’s casket, according to the Architect of the Capitol, as guests held their hands over their hearts.
Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., spoke first, calling Reid a “dear friend and mentor.” The two became friends when Schumer joined the Senate in 2007, Schumer said.
“We celebrate the final return of Harry Mason Reid to the Capitol because we must. Few have shaped the operation of this building like our dear friend from Nevada,” Schumer said.
Schumer said that while Reid he was famous for his soft voice, “he was a force of thunder. He was honest, direct and original.” Reid was considered one of the toughest negotiators in Congress throughout his political career 34 years.
The Vice President Kamala Harris was present with the second gentleman Douglas Emhoff.
President Joe Biden did not attend the ceremony, although he did arrive at the Capitol later Wednesday to pay his respects. After doing so, Biden spent some time behind closed doors with the Reid family.
Biden also spoke at Reid’s funeral over the weekend in Las Vegas, where he, former President Barack Obama and other prominent Democrats recalled the Reid’s life and legacy.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., highlighted Reid’s decades of work Reid on Capitol Hill and said this is “where his portrait hangs, in these hallowed halls, offering a source of strength and inspiration to all of us. From his humble roots in Searchlight, Nevada to the spotlight on Capitol Hill, his entire life was defined by definite odds.”
“ He conquered the impossible and made the world a better place,” Pelosi said.
The tradition of using the Capitol Rotunda to honor distinguished Americans began in 1852. The repose of the remains in that chamber is an honor bestowed upon only 36 people in 169 years, according to the Historian’s Office.