A surgical instrument for assembling a spinal rod to a plurality of anchoring members includes first and second levers that are pivotally, and optionally removably, connected for rotation about a pivot axis. The first lever has a hollow guide tube forming a first handle section and a first distal end section, with a first longitudinal bore extending therethrough. The second lever has a second handle section, a second distal end section, and an intervening second intermediate section that interconnects the two in offset fashion. The second distal end section has a second longitudinal bore. The longitudinal bores accept bone anchor heads. Pivoting of the levers relative to each other about the pivot axis causes the bone anchors to move toward or away from each other. The first and second bores may be configured to mate with bone screw assemblies having extended tabs.