Patrick Anthony McCarran (August 8, 1876 – September 28, 1954) was an American farmer, attorney, judge, and Democratic politician who represented Nevada in the United States Senate from 1933 until 1954.

His support for the aviation industry was well known and resulted in Las Vegas's McCarran Field (now Harry Reid International Airport) being named in his honor.

In 1932, McCarran unseated incumbent Republican Tasker Oddie and in doing so became the state's first U.S. senator born in Nevada; he was reelected three times and served from 1933 until his death.

[7] McCarran ran for the Nevada Assembly in 1902 as a free silver Democrat with encouragement from his political science professor Anne Henrietta Martin.

[10] Both during his time on the court and afterwards, McCarran continued to play a central role in Nevada's state government, as well as its legal and criminal justice systems.

[19] During his first term, McCarran engaged in a major struggle for the control of patronage appointments relating to federal projects in Nevada with his Democratic colleague Key Pittman.

From 1939 to 1941, McCarran opposed Roosevelt's plans for aid to Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and France, accusing the president of trying to involve America in a war that was not its business.

[2]: 94  In particular, McCarran was outraged by the Roosevelt administration's offer of military and economic aid to the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, arguing that it was immoral to assist "godless communists.

"[23] In a speech on the Senate floor, McCarran declared that he despised both Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin but regarded the Third Reich as the lesser evil and felt it was therefore profoundly wrong for the United States to aid the Soviet Union.

[23] McCarran was greatly influenced by Pope Pius XI's anti-communist Divini Redemptoris encyclical in spring 1937, declaring that "Communism is intrinsically wrong, and no one who would save Christian civilization may collaborate with it in any undertaking.

McCarran's positions on several key committees, most notably Appropriations and Judiciary, gave him significant influence that he used to obtain federal funding for Nevada.

[2]: 122–124  For instance, McCarran intervened to shield a teenager from Nevada who stole 150 volumes from the Library of Congress and mutilated hundreds of books.

[2]: 123  In 1942, McCarran pressured the State Department to engage in a prisoner exchange to return the son of a Reno couple who had been captured by the Japanese at Wake Island.

[25] Over time, McCarran used his position as chairman of the Judiciary Committee to engage in much deal-making that allowed him to collect a significant number of political "debts", making him one of the most powerful Senators.

[2]: 69–70  McCarran's conservative politics, which pitted him against first Roosevelt and then Harry S. Truman, frequently led to him being asked why he continued as a Democrat instead of defecting to the Republicans.

In 1950, when McCarran was asked that question by a reporter, he responded: "I can do more good by staying in the Democratic Party and watching the lunatic fringe--the Roosevelt crowd".

[30][31] An admirer of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, he was nicknamed the "Senator from Madrid" by columnist Drew Pearson over his efforts to increase foreign aid to Spain.

[37] In 1952, McCarran and Republican Senators Joseph McCarthy and William Knowland attended a dinner hosted by the Kuomintang Ambassador to Washington, toasting "Back to the mainland!

"[26] McCarran privately told friends that "Joe is a bit irresponsible" and a "publicity hound," but praised him for his attacks on the Truman administration.

[26] In 1951, in an interview with the U.S. News, McCarran expressed his belief that the American Communist Party had engaged in "infiltration" of the media, churches, university faculties, unions and "nationality groups.

[40] The act was never enforced due to numerous hearings, delays and appeals before its major provisions were held unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in 1965 and 1967.

[41] As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, McCarran created and chaired the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee to investigate supposed communist spies and sympathizers within the Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman administrations.

[42] In acrimonious hearings in February 1951, McCarran questioned Institute of Pacific Relations researcher Owen Lattimore, whom Senator McCarthy accused of being the "top Russian agent" responsible for the "loss of China.

[45] At the end of the hearings, McCarran stated Lattimore was "so flagrantly defiant" and "so persistent in his efforts to confuse and obscure the facts that the committee feels constrained to take due notice of his conduct ... That he has uttered untruths stands clear in the record.

"[24] As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, he held up the nomination of Truman's nominee for Attorney General, James McGranery, until McGanery promised to indict Lattimore.

McCarran's antisemitism was also reflected in his view on immigration; he actively opposed efforts to permit survivors of the Holocaust to come to the United States.

Of the Act, McCarran said: I believe that this nation is the last hope of Western civilization and if this oasis of the world shall be overrun, perverted, contaminated or destroyed, then the last flickering light of humanity will be extinguished.

[58] American journalist John Gunther was also critical of McCarran's alleged corporate ties, writing that he resembled gold "in that he is soft, heavy, and not a good conductor.

[64] "While he fought for workers' rights and helped shape the country's aviation industry, McCarran left a legacy of racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism" - letter sent by Reps. Dina Titus, Ruben Kihuen and Jacky Rosen.

[65] A bill introduced in the Nevada State Senate, SB 174, which called for the removal of the statue and renaming of McCarran International Airport for former U.S.