Latest Harry Reid Stories

By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said on Tuesday John Roberts would be confirmed as chief justice of the United States but that he would oppose the conservative Supreme Court nominee because "I'm not too sure if his heart is as big as his head." "I have too many unanswered questions about the nominee to justify a vote confirming him to this enormously important lifetime position," Reid said of President George W. Bush's first nomination to...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has decided to vote against the nomination of John Roberts as chief justice of the United States, a party aide said on Tuesday. The aide said Reid would explain in a speech on the Senate floor later on Tuesday why he is opposing President George W. Bush's first nomination to the Supreme Court. Despite Reid's decision, Roberts, a 50-year-old conservative, is still expected to win bipartisan Senate confirmation before the court...

By Donna Smith WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic leaders pushing for an independent commission to investigate the government's response to Hurricane Katrina spurned on Thursday a plan by majority Republicans for a joint congressional inquiry. House of Representatives Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, called the House-Senate investigation announced by Republican leaders on Wednesday a "sham" and said it would not produce an objective assessment of what went wrong in the...

By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice-nominee John Roberts' Senate confirmation hearing will begin on Monday, Senate leaders said, with Democrats vowing to take as long as necessary to question the 50-year-old conservative who could lead the nation's highest court for decades. At the White House, President George W. Bush said the field was "wide open" for his other pick for the U.S. Supreme Court but that this pending nominee was unlikely to be in place when the...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada suffered a minor stroke earlier this week but doctors found no complications, his office said on Friday. "Senator Reid feels fine," his press secretary Tessa Hafen said in a statement. Hafen said the Senate minority leader had undergone evaluations after he felt light-headed on Tuesday, and his wife urged him to seek medical attention. "There are no complications or any restrictions on his activities," Hafen said....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top Senate Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada visited a doctor earlier this week after feeling light-headed and learned he had suffered a mild stroke, his office said on Friday. "Senator Reid feels fine," his press secretary Tessa Hafen said in a statement. "There are no complications or any restrictions on his activities." Hafen said the Senate minority leader had undergone evaluations this week after his wife urged him to seek medical attention and his doctors...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate's leading Democrat asked the Bush administration on Monday to reconsider its refusal to release internal documents written by Supreme Court nominee John Roberts while at the Justice Department. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said senators needed to see the documents from the years Roberts served as deputy solicitor general in order to examine 50-year-old conservative's candidacy effectively. The Justice Department rebuffed Senate...

By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts opened his campaign on Wednesday for prompt bipartisan confirmation to the nation's highest court and won a positive response from a number of lawmakers. Democrats had been braced for a divisive battle over President Bush's nomination, fearing that he might pick a right-wing extremist. But Bush's selection of Roberts, hailed by backers as a mainstream conservative, drew tempered remarks from Democrats though...

By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts found an audience of seemingly receptive U.S. senators on Wednesday when he opened his campaign for prompt bipartisan confirmation to the nation's high court. Democrats had been braced for a divisive battle over President Bush's nomination, fearing that he might pick a right-wing extremist. But Bush's selection of Roberts, hailed by backers as a mainstream conservative, drew tempered remarks from Democrats...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top Democrats recommended to President Bush on Tuesday three Hispanic judges among potential Supreme Court nominees they view as able to win Senate confirmation without a partisan battle. They include Judge Edward Prado of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa of Texas, according to sources familiar with talks about a nominee between Bush and Democratic and...