?Being tough, being a fighter?: Obama and Biden salute Harry Reid at Las Vegas funeral

Two presidents and Democratic leaders in Congress joined on Saturday to commemorate Harry Reid, the former Senate majority leader who rose from poverty in Nevada to become one of the most powerful US politicians.

"Being tough, being a fighter was once of Harry's signatures characteristics," Barack Obama said, at the service in Las Vegas.

"He didn't believe in high-falutin' theories or rigid ideologies. Harry knew who he was. In a town obsessed with appearance, Harry had a vanity deficit. He didn't like phonies. He didn't like grandstanding."

Reid died on 28 December at home in Henderson, Nevada, at 82 and of complications from pancreatic cancer. He served for 34 years in Washington, leading the Senate through the great recession and a Republican resurgence after the 2010 elections.

His work to push Obama's signature healthcare act through the Senate was prominent among memories expressed at his funeral.

Obama credits Reid for helping his rapid rise from the Senate to the White House. He delivered the eulogy.

"He was more generous to me than I had any right to expect," he said. "He was one of the first people to encourage me to run for president believing that, despite my youth, despite my an experience, despite fact that I was African American, I can actually win. At the time, that made one of us."