time-100-2017-chuck-schumer
Photograph by Gabriella Demczuk—Getty Images

Chuck Schumer

Over the past few years, the only person I have talked to more than Senator Chuck Schumer is my wife Landra. Yet Schumer and I had to make a rule: no phone calls after 10 p.m. Through it all, Schumer and I became very close. He is a good man, and no one is more prepared to lead Senate Democrats through this difficult time than he.

Everyone knows he has a sharp mind for politics, but he is also a deeply principled man who will stand strong for Democratic values. He became a leader under much different circumstances than he imagined, but there is a reason for everything.

TIME 100

The times we live in shape us in ways we never could have imagined. If there is one guarantee about being Senate leader, it's that it is a completely unpredictable job. But whatever lies ahead, I have enormous faith in Schumer, and I am confident that he is the right man for this moment.

Reid is a former Democratic Senator from Nevada

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