President Joe Biden has ordered that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff to honor former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on the day of his funeral.
Flags must be lowered at the White House, all public buildings and grounds, military posts and at various American facilities abroad on the day of Reid’s interment, Biden announced Wednesday.
“Throughout his long career of public service, Harry Reid was instrumental in passing landmark legislation that made a positive difference in the lives of countless Americans and made our Nation stronger and safer,” Biden said in a statement Monday. “His devoted service to our Nation was not about power for power’s sake. It was about the power to do right by the American people.”
Reid, a Democrat who represented Nevada in the U.S. Senate for 30 years until his retirement in 2017, died Tuesday at age 82. He was recognized as one of the most powerful figures in the history of the Democratic Party ― a role he ascended to from a childhood spent growing up in a house built out of old railroad ties.
“He was a man of action, and a man of his word — guided by faith, loyalty, and unshakeable resolve,” Biden said Wednesday.
Landra Reid, Reid’s wife of 62 years, said funeral arrangements will be announced in coming days.
“We greatly appreciate the outpouring of support from so many over these past few years,” she said Tuesday. “We are especially grateful for the doctors and nurses that cared for him. Please know that meant the world to him.”