I am sad tonight but grateful for the friendship I had with Harry. We disagreed on many things, sometimes famously. But we were always honest with each other. In the years after we left public service, that honesty became a bond. Harry was a fighter until the end. RIP, my friend. https://t.co/rA0oAEq7uN
— John Boehner (@SpeakerBoehner) December 29, 2021
LOUISVILLE, KY – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following statement on the passing of former Senator Harry Reid:
“Nevada and our nation are mourning a dedicated public servant and a truly one-of-a-kind U.S. Senator, my former colleague Harry Reid.
“The runway that brought Harry to the upper chamber was nothing short of amazing. His life’s journey began in a house that lacked running water. It took him all the way from amateur boxing and a stint with the U.S. Capitol Police to eventually becoming one of the most senior leaders whom that force protected. You could hardly invent a more quintessentially American story, and it took Harry’s legendary toughness, bluntness, and tenacity to make it happen.
“The nature of Harry’s and my jobs brought us into frequent and sometimes intense conflict over politics and policy. But I never doubted that Harry was always doing what he earnestly, deeply felt was right for Nevada and our country. He will rightly go down in history as a crucial, pivotal figure in the development and history of his beloved home state.
“When Harry retired from the Senate, we both celebrated the fact that our many differences had never really gotten personal. Harry’s and my paths in the Senate were roughly parallel. We seemed to reach each institutional milestone within just a few years of each other. I truly appreciated the sincere and cordial relationship we shared behind the scenes when passions cooled.
“Most of all, Elaine and I appreciated our joint friendship with Harry and his lifelong high-school sweetheart Landra. Harry and Landra had one of the great Senate marriages of our generation — a true inspiration to behold. So it is Landra, their children, and the entire Reid family who come first in our thoughts and prayers tonight. May God bless and keep them as we pray He is welcoming home this unique and accomplished American.