LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — President Joe Biden has ordered flags of the United States of America to be flown at half-staff in honor of the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid through sunset on the day he is laid to rest.
Funeral arrangements will be announced "in the coming days," Reid's widow, Landra, said in a statement to 13 Action News. She also thanked the doctors and nurses that cared for her husband over the past several years.
Reid died Tuesday following a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 82.
RELATED: Harry Reid, Nevada's longest-serving senator, dead at 82 after battling pancreatic cancer
"From humble roots in Searchlight, Nevada, Harry Reid rose to become one of the great Senate Majority Leaders in American history. He was a man of action, and a man of his word -- guided by faith, loyalty, and unshakeable resolve," the White House declaration says in part.
Reid was recognized by local and national figures following his death, including former President Barack Obama.
"You were a great leader in the Senate, and early on you were more generous to me than I had any right to expect," said Obama of the late senator. "I wouldn't have been president had it not been for your encouragement and support, and I wouldn't have got most of what got done without your skill and determination."
MORE: Nevada political leaders, organizations react to death of former Senator Harry Reid
"A boxer, he never gave up a fight. A great American, he looked at challenges and believed it was within our capacity to do good — to do right," said President Joe Biden. "May God bless Harry Reid, a dear friend and a giant of our history."
TIMELINE: The milestones that brought Harry Reid from Searchlight to the Senate
Over a decades-long political career, former Reid will be remembered for many battles fought on behalf of Nevadans. Perhaps one of the most memorable was his vehement opposition to the Yucca Mountain disposal site.
Harry Reid's legacy: A staunch opponent of Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal site
Read the full White House declaration below:
From humble roots in Searchlight, Nevada, Harry Reid rose to become one of the great Senate Majority Leaders in American history. He was a man of action, and a man of his word -- guided by faith, loyalty, and unshakeable resolve.
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. 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.
As a mark of respect for his memory, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that on the day of his interment, the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset on such day. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same period at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth.
JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
