Biden to attend Reid funeral in Nevada

President Biden will attend the funeral of the late former Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in Las Vegas this weekend, a White House official confirmed Tuesday.

Biden served alongside Reid in the Senate for more than two decades, and the two men worked closely together when Biden was vice president and Reid was the majority leader, including to pass the Affordable Care Act.

The Nevada Independent, which first reported Biden’s plans to attend, said former President Obama would also be at the funeral on Saturday and deliver a eulogy.

Saturday’s trip will mark Biden’s first to Nevada since he took office.

Reid died last week at the age of 82 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He served as majority leader from 2007 to 2015 before retiring from politics in 2017 as one of the most influential and powerful Democratic leaders ever to serve in Washington.

Biden last week directed flags outside the White House, military posts, embassies and on federal lands be lowered on the day of Reid’s internment.

After Saturday’s funeral services, Reid’s body will make its way to Washington, D.C., where he will lie in state at the Capitol on Jan. 12. The formal arrival and departure ceremonies will be open to invited guests only, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.