Senator Harry Reid of Nevada was elected by Democratic colleagues on Tuesday as Senate majority leader for the 110th Congress that will convene in January.
HERE IS A LOOK AT THIS VETERAN MODERATE LAWMAKER:
-- Reid became Senate Democratic minority leader in January 2005, replacing Tom Daschle, who was ousted by voters in his home state of South Dakota after being denounced by Republicans as "the chief obstructionist" to President George W. Bush's conservative agenda.
-- Like other Democrats, Reid favours a phased withdrawal, beginning within months, of US troops from Iraq, which was a key issue in last week's elections that gave his party control of the Senate and House of Representatives. As a moderate, Reid breaks with much of his party in opposing abortion and gun control.
-- As majority leader, Reid, who has had a number of clashes with Bush, would control the chamber's legislative agenda, even deciding what to bring up for a vote and when to do so.
-- Reid was born to a poor family on December 2, 1939, in the small desert town of Searchlight, Nevada. They lived in a shack with no toilet or hot water. His father was a hardrock miner who later committed suicide. His mother took in laundry from the local brothels to make ends meet.
A former amateur boxer who earned a law degree while working as a US Capitol policeman, Reid was first elected to the Senate in 1986 after four years in the House of Representatives. He is fond of saying, "I always would rather dance than fight, but I know how to fight."
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