Former Sen. Shelby honored at Alabama Statehouse Thursday

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Former U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby was honored before a joint session of the Alabama Legislature Thursday morning.

Shelby retired this year after more than 50 years in politics, serving the past 36 years in the U.S. Senate.

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 to 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.

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 who took the oath of office on Jan. 3.

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