Alexander left the GOP's leadership track during the Obama years to focus on his committee work.
As chairman of the HELP panel, Alexander shepherded a 2015 rewrite of elementary and high school education that swept through the Senate with near-universal support.
“Lamar listened to me when I told him we should write a bill together, rather than amending the Republican bill he had begun working on,” Murray said.
Alexander offered a defense of the chamber's traditions, especially the filibuster that forces consensus — or, increasingly, gridlock — upon the Senate.
Alexander will be replaced by Nashville businessman Bill Hagerty, a Republican backed by President Donald Trump.