MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Longtime Alabama Republican Senator Richard Shelby is nearing his final day in office.
On Wednesday, lawmakers in Washington took to the Senate floor to bid farewell to Shelby and thank him for his decades of service.
Senator Shelby served 51 years in office – with 44 of those years spent in Congress, including the past 36 years in the U.S. Senate.
“I want to start off by thanking the people of Alabama, my home state. They put their trust in me for more than 50 years. It’s more than I could ever have wished for and this has been truly here an experience of a lifetime,” Senator Shelby said. “Something I could have never dreamed.”
Shelby, 88, is a fifth-generation Alabamian and a graduate of the University of Alabama’s undergraduate and law programs. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party in 1994. As Alabama’s longest-serving U.S. senator, Shelby has chaired four Senate committees, including appropriations, rules, banking and intelligence.
Before serving in the Senate, Shelby was already a seasoned lawmaker, he served Alabama for four terms in the U.S. House and eight years in the Alabama Legislature.
Lawmakers said Shelby will be remembered for his ability to broker deals across the aisle, and his ability secure billions of dollars in federal funds to support higher education, military defense, and economic development projects like the deepening and widening of the Mobile ship channel.
“To say Senator Shelby committed his career to the betterment of his state and the nation would be a huge understatement.,” said Alabama U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville. “His retirement is well earned, and his work should be celebrated. So, today, I want to honor the countless hours — countless hours — he has spent fighting for Alabama, and the many achievements he has championed for the betterment of all Americans. Senator Shelby’s work has hit almost every corner of Alabama…His focus on national defense, manufacturing, infrastructure, and education will be the hallmarks of his legacy.”
“We have to think about a time when this body and Nation are as divided as ever. Senator Richard Shelby’s tenure exemplifies a commitment to cooperation and fairness,” said Pat Leahy longtime U.S. Senator for Vermont. “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.”
“Richard always wants to solve the problem and the country is better for that and so is the Senate, “said U.S. Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri.
“Whenever I watch Alabama football now, I don’t think about Bear Bryant — I think about Chairman Richard Shelby and I think about all of the amazing things that he has done in Congress,” said U.S. Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota.
Shelby has worked through eight presidential administrations starting when he was in the U.S. House with former President Jimmy Carter. He moved to the Senate when Ronald Regan occupied the Oval Office. He’s been elected 12 times to public office.
Shelby plans to spend his retirement at his home with his wife and family in Tuscaloosa. His handpicked successor and former chief of staff, Katie Britt, will take the oath of office on Jan. 3.
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