[S]en. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., cast the 16,000th vote of his U.S. Senate career on Wednesday, ranking him fourth all time among members of the upper chamber.
Family, friends and staff looked on as Leahy cast his historic vote on what happened to be an update to the international tax treaty with Japan.
Leahy, now with 16,000 votes to his name, sits well ahead Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who is second among current senators with 12,937.
Leahy now places fourth among all senators, behind only former Sens. Robert C. Byrd — 1959-2010 — who finished with 18,689, Strom Thurmond — 1955-2002 – with 16,348, and Daniel K. Inouye — 1963-2012 — in third place with 16,300.
After the votes were cast, Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., praised Leahy.
“I think it is safe to say that all of Sen. Leahy’s colleagues on both sides of the aisle are reminded every day why the good people of Vermont made him the youngest U.S. senator ever from Vermont back in 1974 and why they have rehired him over and over,” McConnell said.
“He must be a hard act to follow, too, because, believe this or not, he is still technically — technically — the only Democrat Vermont has ever sent to the Senate,” the majority leader added, in an apparent reference to independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is in his second bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Leahy said it has been a great honor to serve Vermont for as long as he has and he is proud of the work he has done with both Republicans and Democrats during his time in the Senate since he first entered the chamber in 1975.
“It is a privilege to be in this body, a body which has been, and can be and should be, the conscience of the nation. I would urge my friends on both sides of the aisle to continue to work together,” Leahy said on the Senate floor.
Leahy’s fellow Vermont representatives, Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., were both present for the vote and congratulated Leahy on Twitter.
“Congratulations, Patrick, on your outstanding leadership and service to Vermont and the nation,” wrote Welch on Twitter.
I was pleased to join @SenatorLeahy this morning as he cast his 16,000th roll call vote. Congratulations, Patrick, on your outstanding leadership and service to Vermont and the nation. #vtpoli
— Rep. Peter Welch (@PeterWelch) July 17, 2019
Sanders wrote that Leahy “has worked tirelessly for the people of Vermont” and has brought the state’s “values of justice and openness to Washington.”
“I look forward to continuing our work together,” Sanders said.
I congratulate my friend @SenatorLeahy for casting his 16,000th vote in the U.S. Senate! Senator Leahy has worked tirelessly for the people of Vermont since 1974, bringing our state’s values of justice and openness to Washington. I look forward to continuing our work together. pic.twitter.com/3aaIAZvG5X
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 17, 2019
In an interview on Thursday, the 79-year-old Leahy said the landmark vote made him think about how he will continue to diligently work for Vermont until the day he retires from the Senate.
“Even if I knew it was my last day in the Senate, I would still work hard,” he said. “So whenever I decide to retire, I’ll be working like mad right up to the day the session ends and I walk out, back to Vermont, back home.”
Leahy did not indicate when that time may be. Asked about running for reelection in 2022, Leahy said he had not decided whether he would step aside or if he would ask Vermonters to send him back to Washington, D.C., for another six-year term.
“I’ve never ever made up my mind on an election until the year before the election. I’ve seen too many people become ineffectual because the day they are sworn in here they are planning for the next election,” Leahy said.
“If you spend every day thinking about reelection, you lose all effectiveness,” he added.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated Sen. Patrick Leahy’s age. He is 79, not 81.
