In 1986, West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd opted to run for Senate Majority Leader, believing that his two opponents to claiming the position would be Inouye and Louisiana Senator J. Bennett Johnston. Cutting a deal with Inouye, Byrd pledged that he would step aside from the position in 1989 in the event that Inouye supported him for Majority Leader for the 100th United States Congress. Inouye accepted the offer and was given the chance to select the new Senate sergeant-at-arms. Inouye publicly did not deny this deal, though implied his backing of Byrd for Majority Leader was from both respect and friendship. The same year as the deal with Byrd, Inouye was named as one of the 80 individuals to receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.