Reid pledges to work with GOP in first remarks since election

WASHINGTON – Sen. Harry Reid struck a note of conciliation on Wednesday in his first public remarks since Democrats lost control of the U.S. Senate and he was unseated as majority leader on Election Day this past week.

Reid said he has no plans to stymie Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who will become majority leader in the Senate that will convene in January. Reid is expected to be elected as minority leader when Democrats meet on Thursday to organize for the new year.

“I’m ready to work with him in good faith to make this institution function again for the American people,” Reid said of McConnell in a brief speech opening the Senate for a post-election lame duck session expected to last until near-Christmas.

Reid opened his remarks with a quote from Will Rogers: “Don’t let yesterday use too much of today.”

“We have a lot of work to do and no time to linger on the past,” he said.

Reid had remained publicly silent and out of the limelight for a week since deep Democratic losses on Nov. 4, raising anticipation to the tone he would choose to set moving forward. The Nevadan, who is expected to be targeted by Republicans when he is up for re-election in 2016, will remain majority leader during the lame duck but said he plans to compromise with Republicans who will control at least 53 seats in the incoming Senate.

“I saw first hand how a strategy of obstruction was debilitating to our system and I have no desire to engage in that manner,” said Reid, referring to what he has complained were Republican attempts during the Obama presidency to filibuster bills and delay votes on nominees to federal posts.

For their part, Republicans have said it was Reid who fostered Senate dysfunction by blocking nearly all amendments and unilaterally changing Senate rules to strip GOP senators of filibuster rights on most nominations.

The strategy to shield Obama policies and protect vulnerable Democrat incumbents from taking potentially provocative votes backfired, as Republicans won in eight states by beating an incumbent or capturing an open seat vacated by a retiring Democrat. A Louisiana seat held by Democrat Mary Landrieu will be decided in a Dec. 6 runoff.

“Last week the American people sent a strong message to Washington,” McConnell said Wednesday. “They voted for a new direction. They called for a change in the way we do things here in the Senate and they sent a new team to Washington to carry their wishes forward.”

Reid was minority leader during the 2005-2006 Senate session, a period in which he led challenges to the Republican majority but also compromised on a handful of major bills.

“I’ve been able to strike compromises with my Republican colleagues and I am ready to do it again,” Reid said Wednesday. “Regardless of how you may interpret last week’s election results, it’s clear the American people want us to join together to get things done for the middle class and for all Americans.”

But Reid signaled Democrats will continue to press on a handful of favored issues, such as raising the minimum wage, “pay equity” for women and debt relief for student borrowers.

He noted the red states of Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota voted last week to raise the minimum wage. “Clearly Republicans outside this building don’t object to giving American workers a liveable wage,” he said.

Contact Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.