Harry Reid: I'd Like to Lead Senate for 8 More Years

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he plans on staying right where he is for as long as he possibly can.

The Nevada Democrat is up for re-election in 2014, and in an interview with Roll Call Wednesday, he confirmed that he intends to run. "I don't want to do it more than eight more years," said the 74-year-old former boxer.

Asked if Democratic Conference Secretary Patty Murray's front and center role in the recent budget negotiations means she could take over the leadership, Reid responded, "If I drop dead? I don't know."

"I mean, I will someday. It's just a question of if I do it while I'm here," he said.

As for whether Reid thinks his party can maintain its majority in next year's elections in light of issues such as the disastrous Obamacare rollout, he was optimistic, saying, "We're always very honed-in on the races. We feel pretty good about how things are going."

He also said he has not ruled out taking further steps to curb the GOP's ability to filibuster, as he did last month when he used the so-called nuclear option to eliminate filibusters on most nominations.

"I have no intention of changing the rules tomorrow or the next day or, you know, [in] the foreseeable future, but this is a two-way street. I think that we should start legislating and not [waste] all of our time on nominations. That's all I've been wasting my time on for years here is nominations," Reid stated.

"I'm not precluding anything. It's just according to how we get along here."

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