Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Saturday pressed Hawaii’s governor to quickly appoint a successor to Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), who passed away last week.
In a statement, Reid said he has asked Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) to tap a replacement by year’s end.
{mosads}“I have asked the governor of Hawaii to appoint Senator Inouye’s successor with due haste. It is critically important to ensure that the people of Hawaii are fully represented in the pivotal decisions the Senate will be making before the end of the year,” read the statement from Reid.
Inouye, whom Reid called a “dear friend,” died on Monday at the age of 88. The nine-term senator, who had helmed the Appropriations Committee, had been hospitalized earlier this month at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after experiencing respiratory complications.
Before he passed away, Inouye sent a letter to Abercrombie urging him to appoint Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-Hawaii) as his successor, a spokesman for the senator confirmed last week. The two lawmakers were close friends, and Inouye had indicated to others in the past that he would like her to succeed him in the Senate.
While Abercrombie will make the final decision, Hanabusa is widely seen as the front-runner for the post.
Last week, the chairman of the Hawaii Democratic Party Dante Carpenter said a number of Democrats had already contacted him and expressed interest in Inouye’s seat.
Other possible appointees include former Rep. Ed Case (D), and Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz (D), who lost his 2006 bid for Congress.
Inouye had served Hawaii in Congress since 1959, when he entered the House. He won election to the Senate in 1962, going on to become the second-longest serving member in Senate history.
President Obama attended a memorial service for Inouye at Washington National Cathedral and called the decorated World War II veteran an “inspiration.”
Many of Inouye’s Senate colleagues, as well as Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, will attend his funeral in Hawaii on Sunday.