Reactions to former U.S. Sen Harry Reid’s death from friends, colleagues, presidents

By Jessica Hill

Published Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021 | 6:54 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021 | 8:27 p.m.

After former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid’s wife, Landra, announced his death today, messages of sympathy, respect and thanks from his many friends and colleagues started pouring in.

President Joe Biden and former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton all issued statements honoring Reid, who died at age 82.

He started in politics at age 28 as a member of the Nevada Assembly and eventually was elected to the U.S. House and Senate, where he served as majority leader from 2007 to 2015.

Landra Reid, his wife of 62 years, said in a statement that she was heartbroken to announce his death.

He died peacefully, surrounded by family, after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer, she said. 

“We are so proud of the legacy he leaves behind both on the national stage and his beloved Nevada,” she said. “Harry was deeply touched to see his decades of service to Nevada honored in recent weeks with the renaming of Las Vegas’ airport in his honor.” 

Funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming days, she said. 

“We greatly appreciate the outpouring of support from so many over these past few years,” she said. “We are especially grateful to the doctors and nurses that cared for him. Please know that meant the world to him.”

Here’s what others said upon the news of Reid’s death:

• President Joe Biden said he and Reid “grew up on different sides of the country, but we came from the same place where certain values run deep. Loyalty. Faith. Resolve. Service.

“During the two decades we served together in the United States Senate, and the eight years we worked together while I served as vice president, Harry met the marker for what I’ve always believed is the most important thing by which you can measure a person—their action and their word.

“If Harry said he would do something, he did it. If he gave you his word, you could bank on it. That’s how he got things done for the good of the country for decades.

“Under his watch as Senate majority leader, Harry helped pass the Recovery Act to prevent another Great Depression. He helped rescue the American auto industry. He helped pass the Affordable Care Act and Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform, ended Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and ratified the New Start Treaty.

“Throughout his entire career in the Senate, he led battles over budgets, fought to give our troops what they needed in battle and what they earned and deserved upon their return home. He was a bulwark against efforts to privatize Social Security. He was the champion who created Nevada’s Great Basin National Park. And, he was a leader who believed the Federal bench should reflect the diversity of America.

“I’ve had the honor of serving with some of the all-time great Senate majority leaders in our history. Harry Reid was one of them. And for Harry, it wasn’t about power for power’s sake. It was about the power to do right for the people.

“A son of Searchlight, Nevada, Harry never forgot his humble roots. A boxer, he never gave up a fight—whether in politics or even against cancer. A great American, Harry looked at the challenges of the world and believed it was within our capacity to do good, to do right, and to do our part of perfecting the Union we all love.

“But above all, Harry was first and foremost the devoted husband to his dear Landra. Over six decades together, they built a remarkable family with their children—Lana, Rory, Leif, Josh, and Key—and all of their grandchildren and great-grandchild. Jill and I send our love and prayers to Landra and the entire Reid family.

“May God bless Harry Reid, a dear friend and a giant of our history.”

• Vice President Kamala Harris said Reid was kind, generous and to the point.

“Our country has lost an honorable public servant,” Harris said in a statement. “He always fought for working families and the poor. Leader Reid also got things done: from expanding access to health care through the Affordable Care Act, to getting economic relief to families and businesses through the Recovery Act, and much more, he made a meaningful difference in people’s lives.”

• Former President Barack Obama shared on Twitter a message he sent to Reid when he heard his health situation had taken a “rough turn.”

“You were a great leader in the Senate, and early on you were more generous to me than I had any right to expect,” Obama said. “I wouldn’t have been president had it not been for your encouragement and support, and I wouldn’t have got most of what I got done without your skill and determination.

“As different as we are, I think we both saw something of ourselves in each other — a couple of outsiders who had defied the odds and knew how to take a punch and cared about the little guy. And you know what, we made for a pretty good team,” Obama said.

• Former President Bill Clinton called Reid one of the most effective Senate leaders the country has ever known.

“He was a canny and tough negotiator who was never afraid to make an unpopular decision if it meant getting something done that was right for the country,” Clinton said in a statement. “Ever the boxer of his youth, he never shied away from necessary political fights, but believed compromise is vital for a functioning democracy.”

• U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., who filled Reid’s seat when he retired in 2017, said she was devastated to learn of his passing.

“The American people are better off because of the leadership of Senator Harry Reid,” she said in a statement. “He gave millions of Americans access to affordable health care and made such a difference to countless people.”

Reid also ensured Nevada would play a major role in deciding each party’s nominee for president, Cortez Masto said.

“And he never hesitated to fight for us, from blocking efforts to dump nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain to getting our state the federal support we deserve,” she said.

• U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said Reid inspired her and other Nevadans and that she was grateful for his friendship.

“Senator Reid also saw the potential in others and helped them grow to that potential,” Rosen said in a statement. “He was exceptionally kind and had a boundless passion for improving the lives of hardworking families.” 

• Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said that to say Reid was a giant “doesn’t fully encapsulate all that he accomplished on behalf of the state of Nevada and for Nevada families; there will never be another leader quite like Senator Reid."

“To me, he was a mentor, a father figure, and someone I trusted to always give it to me straight,” said Sisolak, a fellow Democrat.

Reid “spent his life and his career fighting the good fight for all Nevadans,” Sisolak said.

• U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said in a tweet and statement that Reid used his instincts as a one-time boxer to “fearlessly fight” those who were hurting the poor and the middle class.

“He’s gone but will walk by the sides of many of us in the Senate every day,” Schumer said.

• U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., said Reid was “a real-life hero; a colossus of Nevada and national politics who defined what it means to live your life in service to others. Over his five decades of public service, he transformed the lives of millions, but never forgot his small-town roots in Searchlight.”

Reid worked to expand affordable health care, protect immigrant communities, promote conservation and help working families, Horsford said.

• Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said in a tweet that every time she spoke with Reid he would ask about her family and then talk about his own with “great pride.”

“Sen. Reid was first a family man,” Goodman said. “In each of my trips to DC, I always was graciously welcomed into his office. He helped with everything I asked, every time.”

• Battle Born Progress Executive Director Annette Magnus said in a statement that Reid fought hard for issues Nevadans care about, from immigration to health care and protecting public lands.

The group was honored to work with Reid on “many efforts to make Nevada a better place to live,” she said.

• The Vegas Chamber said Reid defined the term “Battle Born” and was proud to have worked with him on initiatives including preventing the storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, construction of Interstate 11 and the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.

“His dedication to Nevadans through his many roles in public service elevated the quality of life for many in our state,” the group said in a statement.

• Clark County Director of Aviation Rosemary Vassiliadis said Reid was a great advocate for the industry in Southern Nevada.

“The impact of his work is tangible from terminal expansions to new air traffic control facilities, and his legacy will continue well into the future through the development of a new commercial airport on land he helped Clark County obtain through the passage of multiple congressional acts,” Vassiliadis said in a statement. “His deep love and commitment to this industry benefits travelers today and will for years to come.”

• Former Republican U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, who is running for governor, said in a tweet Tuesday that Nevada lost an historic figure.

“While we rarely agreed politically, we shared a common faith and he’ll be deeply missed,” Heller said.

• Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said Reid was “a true lion of the Senate. He was as tough as they come.”

Reid “gave us a masterclass in what it meant to serve and fight on behalf of the people he represented…While we lost an American icon, his memory will not be forgotten – and my hope is that we can strive to emulate his leadership and follow in his footsteps to create a better country for all.”

• Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick said Reid was “a dedicated public servant who truly loved Nevada.”

“Throughout his life, Sen. Reid helped shape our state, bringing significant and real progress to our community and ensuring our future success,” she said in a statement.

• UNLV President Keith Whitfield said in a tweet that Reid was an advocate for higher education and the opportunities it provides.

“We are saddened by his passing but grateful for knowing him and all his work to elevate UNLV,” Whitfield said.

• Former Gov. Brian Sandoval, now the president of UNR, said via Twitter that Reid’s career in public service “belongs on the state’s Mount Rushmore as an example of a legendary leader who always put the needs, dreams and future of the people of Nevada first.”

• U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said he admired Reid’s commitment to public service, love for Nevada and his “transformational leadership style.”

“To put it simply, Harry was a member’s Leader,” Menendez said in a statement. “Serving in the Democratic Caucus under the guidance of one of the toughest, most brilliant political minds of our time was one of the honors of my career.”

• Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said Reid’s death “marks a tremendous loss for Nevada and for the country.”

“For decades, he served as one the Silver State’s most active champions in Washington, D.C. Moreover, his love for his home and his passion for improving the lives of Nevadans never waned after his retirement in 2017,” Ford said in a statement.

• Virginia Valentine, president of the Nevada Resort Association, said Reid was a powerful voice for hundreds of thousands of Nevadans working in the gaming and tourism industry.

"His prolific leadership from the statehouse to dais of the Gaming Commission to Capitol Hill touched all of our lives," Valentine said in the statement. “He leaves an enduring legacy across Nevada and the nation and will be greatly missed.”

• The Clark County School District noted that Reid was one of its proud graduates. “His legacy lives on through his many accomplishments in public service and the facilities bearing his name,” including Searchlight’s elementary school,” the district said in a statement.

• Nevada System of Higher Education Chancellor Melody Rose said Reid was a strong advocate for the state’s colleges and universities.

He “fought tirelessly to help our institutions grow to meet the needs of our state,” she said.