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'I wouldn't have been president without him: Obama leads Biden and Clinton in paying tribute to former Democratic Senate Majority leader Harry Reid following his death aged 82 after four-year battle with pancreatic cancer

  Longtime Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid died Tuesday at the age of 82 after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer.   'I am he...

 Longtime Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid died Tuesday at the age of 82 after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer.  

'I am heartbroken to announce the passing of my husband, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid,' the former lawmaker's widow Landra Gould Reid wrote in a statement on his passing.

'He died peacefully this afternoon, surrounded by our family, following a courageous, four-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Harry was 82 years old. We were married for 62 years,' she added.

Reid, who dedicated 35 years to representing Nevada in Washington, D.C., served as Senate Majority Leader from 2007–2015 and at two separate points was Minority Leader during his tenure. 

Former President Barack Obama said that Reid's wife, Landra, asked during the last days of her husband's life that his friends write letters that she could read to him.

The lifelong politician is survived by Landra and their five children. 

'You were a great leader in the Senate, and early on you more generous to me than I had any right to expect,' Obama wrote in his message to Reid, which he posted to Twitter on Tuesday.

'I wouldn't have been president had it not been for your encouragement and support,' he added, 'and I wouldn't have got most of what I got done without your skill and determination.'

Reid was Majority Leader of the Senate during the majority of Obama's tenure in the White House, allowing much of his agenda to pass Congress. He also served in Congress when Bill Clinton was president.

'Hillary and I mourn the passing of Harry Reid, one of the most effective Senate leaders our country has ever known,' Clinton tweeted.  

Flags are being lowered to half-staff at the Capitol in honor of Reid, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Twitter Tuesday evening. 

Reid had a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer before dying Tuesday. He had surgery at Johns Hopkins Cancer Center in mid-May 2018 after the initial tumor was found on his pancreas during a routine screening. 

'As soon as you discover you have something on your pancreas, you're dead,' Reid said of his diagnosis at the time. 

Former President Barack Obama paid tribute to the late senator on Tuesday, claiming he wouldn't have been president without him

Former President Barack Obama paid tribute to the late senator on Tuesday, claiming he wouldn't have been president without him

Obama shared a message he sent to Reid recently as his wife, Landra Gould Reid, request his friends send her letters that she could read to her husband in his final days

Obama shared a message he sent to Reid recently as his wife, Landra Gould Reid, request his friends send her letters that she could read to her husband in his final days

Reid is survived by his wife Landra Gould  (right) and their five children

Reid is survived by his wife Landra Gould  (right) and their five children

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who succeeded Reid, said Tuesday that the flags at the Capitol were lowered to half-staff in honor of Reid

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who succeeded Reid, said Tuesday that the flags at the Capitol were lowered to half-staff in honor of Reid


Less than a year later, it was revealed that Reid could no longer move without the aid of a walker

In February 2019, Reid announced his cancer was in remission due to early detection and chemotherapy.  

President Joe Biden, who served in the Senate for 20 years with Reid, said their shared 'values run deep' of loyalty, faith, resolve and service and called the fellow lifelong Democratic politician a 'giant' of U.S. history.

'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,' Biden wrote in a late night statement on Reid's passing.

'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.'

Biden praised Reid for not wanting 'power for power's sake' but truly wanting to 'do right for the people.'

'Harry Reid was one of the most amazing individuals I have ever met,' Schumer wrote in a statement on his passing. 

'He was tough-as-nails strong, but caring and compassionate, and always went out of his way quietly to help people who needed help,' he added. 

'He was a boxer who came from humble origins, but he never forgot where he came from and used those boxing instincts to fearlessly fight those who were hurting the poor and the middle class.'

'He was my leader, my mentor, one of my dearest friends,' said Schumer, who succeeded Reid as Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate in 2017.

Schumer concluded: 'He's gone but he will walk by the sides of many of us in the Senate every single day.'

The lifelong politician is survived by his wife Landra Gould, their five children – Lana, Rory, Leif, Josh, and Key – and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

Earlier this month, the McCarran International Airport right outside Las Vegas, Nevada was renamed to the Harry Reid International Airport in honor of the lawmaker. 

He called the renaming of the airport where he spent decades commuting to D.C. one of the 'greatest honors' of his life.

First entering politics in 1969 as a member of the Nevada Assembly from the state's 4th district, Reid eventually rose to the highest position in the United States Senate.

From 1983-1987, Reid represented Nevada's 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives – in his first position in D.C. and not in his home state.

He then spent two decades after that as a Democratic senator for Nevada where he served in various leadership roles, including as majority and minority whip, chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus and minority and majority leader.

In 2016, as Reid prepared to end his tenure in politics, he told The Washington Post: 'It's going to be an adjustment, I wish I could stay in the Senate forever.'

As a young man, Reid was an amateur boxer. While attending high school, one of Reid's teachers and his boxing coach was Mike O'Callaghan who went on to become Nevada's Democratic governor from 1971-1979.

When attending George Washington University Law School, Reid worked as a police officer for the United States Capitol Police.

Upon earning his J.D. in 1964, Reid got involved with politics by moving back to Nevada and serving as Henderson city attorney. He was soon after elected to the Nevada Assembly for the 4th district of Clark County in 1968.

An outpouring of support came in for Reid Tuesday evening, especially from Democrats.

'Our country has lost an honorable public servant. Harry Reid rose through the ranks in Washington, becoming Senate Majority Leader, but he never forgot his humble beginnings in Searchlight, Nevada – and he always fought for working families and the poor,' wrote Vice President Kamala Harris, who served in the Senate but never with Reid.

She added that 'Leader Reid also got things done' and listed his accomplishments in Congress like getting Obama's Affordable Care Act passed and helping with economic relief for families and businesses.

Nevada's Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak wrote in a statement: 'He will be so deeply missed but the mark he left on the Silver State will last forever.' 

'Today, America lost a titan of public service,' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted. 

'Senator Harry Reid was a leader of immense courage and ferocious conviction who worked tirelessly to achieve historic progress for the American people.'

'Over more than four decades of public service, he was guided always by his North Star: to improve the lives of working families like his own. He will be remembered as one of the most impactful Leaders of the Senate in history helping to steer it w/ reverence, principle & command.' 

President Joe Biden's Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrote on Twitter: 'Harry Reid was one of a kind.'

'He was extraordinarily effective and indefatigable in his work to make life better for all Americans - and a generous source of advice and encouragement to me and countless others,' he added. 

'He will be greatly missed, across Nevada and throughout America.' 

Obama-era Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro wrote: 'Harry Reid taught us all how to campaign with conviction, govern with guile, and fight like hell for what you believe in.' 

Reid (pictured in 1994) served in the U.S. Senate representing Nevada for two decades, and before that was a U.S. representative for the state's 1st congressional district

Reid (pictured in 1994) served in the U.S. Senate representing Nevada for two decades, and before that was a U.S. representative for the state's 1st congressional district

As a young man, Reid was a boxer. High school coach, Mike O'Callaghan, went on to become a governor for Nevada from 1971-1979. This photo from Instagram is captioned: 'In his younger days, Reid was also a middleweight amateur boxer'

As a young man, Reid was a boxer. High school coach, Mike O'Callaghan, went on to become a governor for Nevada from 1971-1979. This photo from Instagram is captioned: 'In his younger days, Reid was also a middleweight amateur boxer'

Love also came to Reid and his family from current U.S. senators.

'Harry Reid was a mentor to me and a towering model of leadership, grit, and uncompromising service to others,' Democratic Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey wrote on Twitter.

'His legacy in Nevada and our nation will be felt for generations. Those of us who knew him will forever be humbled and inspired by his amazing spirit,' he added.

Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, who along with Booker ran for president in 2020, said that 'Harry Reid was a fighter.'

'He never gave up when it came to doing what was right for his state and his country,' Klobuchar tweeted. 'I am so honored to have had his mentorship, leadership, and most of all, friendship. My thoughts are with Landra and his whole family tonight.'

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell described his relationship with Reid as 'cordial'. It was obvious through their tenure in the Senate together that Reid and McConnell were not fond of eachother.

'You could hardly invent a more quintessentially American story, and it took Harry's legendary toughness, bluntness, and tenacity to make it happen,' McConnell said in his statement on Reid's death.

Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, also sent his condolences on Twitter.

'Sorry 2learn of the passing of Sen Harry Reid,' he wrote. 'Early in our career we worked 2gether to get a taxpayers bill of rights passed'.

'Even tho I am ideologically opposite I must say he did a good job representing the interests of Nevada in the US Senate,' he added. 'As majority ldr he ran a tight ship'.


Reid meets with Senator Bernie Sanders who was running for president at the time on June 9, 2016 – as Reid was preparing to end his Senate tenure

Reid meets with Senator Bernie Sanders who was running for president at the time on June 9, 2016 – as Reid was preparing to end his Senate tenure

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said 'America lost a titan of public service' with Reid's death

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said 'America lost a titan of public service' with Reid's death

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