Act Daily News
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A uncommon scene is about to unfold in Covington, Kentucky, on Wednesday: President Joe Biden standing alongside Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, as the 2 males promote collectively a serious bipartisan legislative accomplishment.
The president’s go to to McConnell’s residence state to herald the implementation of the huge $1.2 trillion infrastructure invoice that McConnell and 18 different Senate Republicans voted for and that Biden signed into legislation in 2021 marks his first home journey of the brand new yr. The journey is aimed toward sending an unmistakable message as he kicks off the second half of his first time period: Even in a newly divided Congress, the Biden White House nonetheless sees room for bipartisanship.
The backdrop for Biden’s go to would be the Brent Spence Bridge that connects Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, and is understood to be one of many busiest freight routes within the nation. Officials say the construction carries way more site visitors than it’s meant to assist.
It’s additionally a bridge that Biden as soon as promised he would overhaul: “We’re going to fix that damn bridge of yours going into Kentucky,” Biden stated throughout a Act Daily News city corridor in Cincinnati in the summertime of 2021, because the infrastructure invoice seemed to be on the cusp of passage.
On Wednesday, the White House introduced greater than $2 billion from the infrastructure legislation would go in direction of upgrading the Brent Spence bridge and different “economically significant bridges” across the nation.
Biden’s journey to the Ohio-Kentucky border on Wednesday may also function Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and former Republican Sen. Rob Portman, in addition to Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
White House officers say that the present of bipartisanship is aimed toward sending a transparent sign that as Republicans take management of the House, Biden stays satisfied that there’ll nonetheless be alternatives for bipartisan legislative wins.
The picture of Biden spending time with Republican elected officers on Wednesday will notably stand in stark distinction from the extraordinary drama that has been unfolding within the House of Representatives, the place Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy struggled on Tuesday to lock within the votes inside his personal convention for the House speakership at the same time as he provided to make main concessions to the assorted hardliners against his bid.
“House Republicans will do what they’ll do,” one White House official stated. “Biden won’t insert himself in that process.”
McConnell’s resolution to look with Biden on Wednesday additionally alerts the GOP chief’s willingness to work alongside the president, at the same time as a lot of his Republican colleagues within the House take a hardline stance towards compromising with Democrats.
While White House officers often invite all congressional members to attend occasions Biden holds of their residence states, Republicans continuously flip down the chance – making McConnell’s resolution to affix the president this week all of the extra notable.
Biden himself sought to downplay the significance of the pairing on Monday.
“We’ve been friends a long time. Everybody is talking about how significant it is. It has nothing to do about our relationship,” he stated as he returned to the White House from his winter trip in St. Croix. “It’s a giant bridge, man. It’s a lot of money. It’s important.”
Plenty of Cabinet officers additionally plan to journey later this week to advertise the infrastructure legislation. Vice President Kamala Harris will cease in Chicago, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will go to New London, Connecticut, on Wednesday the place they are going to every “discuss how the president’s economic plan is rebuilding our infrastructure, creating good-paying jobs – jobs that don’t require a four-year degree – and revitalizing communities left behind,” a White House official stated.
Over the approaching weeks, Biden is anticipated to reiterate his bipartisan achievements in stops across the nation because the Republican majority within the House begins its work, culminating in his yearly State of the Union tackle. Biden’s aides have begun work on that speech and have made bipartisanship a central theme.