Patrick Leahy: “I am going to take the prerogative as President Pro Tempore to speak because I know the distinguished Republican leader…”

“I am going to take the prerogative as President Pro Tempore to speak because I know the distinguished Republican leader has already spoken, and I, of course, would have yielded to him had he not. It is always hard to say goodbye to friends, especially one as good as Senator Shelby, and one with whom I will walk out of here arm in arm. But I would say that we have to think about the time when this body and Nation are as divided as ever, Senator Richard Shelby's tenure exemplifies a commitment to cooperation and fairness. I have seen that not only in his public life, and what we see on the floor, but I see it in meetings we have in his office or my office, quiet meetings between the two of us, knowing we will always keep our word. And so I would say at the conclusion of the 117th Congress, the Senate will lose a skilled leader and a true Senator of his word. That has been the way with our decades of service together. Senator Shelby's legacy, one marked by his intellect, his integrity, will undoubtedly persist in this body and throughout the country. My great mentor when I came here as the junior-most Member of the Senate was Robert Stafford of Vermont. Senator Stafford was Mr. Republican from Vermont, and he took me under his wing, and he said to me: Patrick, always keep your word, but you find you will be the best Senator if you learn to work across the aisle.…”