Reid, New Senate Democratic Leader, Seen as Infrastructure Backer
The new Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, pledges to seek consensus with congressional Republicans, but also indicates that there are limits to how much he will compromise. To engineering and construction industry officials, Reid, a senior Appropriations and Environment and Public Works Committee member, is viewed as a defender of federal infrastructure spending.
Reid, 64, was formally elected Nov. 16 by his fellow Senate Democrats as the minority leader in the 109th Congress. He succeeds Tom Daschle of South Dakota, who lost a re-election bid on Nov. 2 to former Rep. John Thune. For the past three years, Reid has been the Senate Democratic Whip--the number-two position in his party's leadership ranks for that chamber. Before being elected to the Senate in 1986, Reid served two terms in the House.