COVINGTON, Kentucky (AP) — President Joe Biden visited a dilapidated bridge connecting Ohio and Kentucky to talk up the virtues of bipartisanship with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday while at the same time blasting House Republicans for an “embarrassing” scene of disarray that has kept the chamber from organizing itself.
The Democratic president’s trip to the Brent Spence Bridge, which is getting a federal facelift, came as Washington is gripped by the GOP’s inability to unify behind a candidate for House speaker. Biden, as he left the White House, said the chaos was “not a good look” for the country. The election of a speaker is required before House members can be sworn in for the new congressional session.
“That’s not my problem,” Biden said of the speaker vote. “I just think it’s really embarrassing it’s taking so long.” He added that “the rest of the world is looking” at the turmoil on the House floor while his focus is on “getting things done.”
Even before the drama over the vote for speaker, Biden’s chances of securing additional massive, transformational legislation had all but evaporated in a divided Washington, where Republicans have taken a slim majority in the House after the midterm elections. The focus is set to turn to GOP investigations of the Biden administration and battles over essentials like funding the government and meeting federal debt obligations.
That has the White House and top Cabinet officials hoping to direct the country’s focus to Biden’s achievements during his first two years in office and demonstrating how the new laws directly affect Americans.
Biden’s appearance with McConnell was meant to mark a renewed push by his administration to highlight the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law and to appeal to newly empowered Republicans to find additional areas of cooperation in the new Congress.
“We all know these are really partisan times. But I always feel that no matter who gets elected, once it’s all over, we ought to look for things that we can agree on and try to do those, even while we have big differences on other things,” McConnell said in brief remarks before Biden took the stage, calling the bridge an example of bipartisanship that the “country needs to see.”
Democrats’ stronger-than-expected showing in the midterms allowed their party to retain control of the Senate even as the House fell to Republicans.
On Tuesday, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the ostensible GOP pick for speaker, failed to win the required majority on three ballots — the first time in a century that a speaker hasn’t been selected on the first ballot. Members-elect returned to the chamber on Wednesday for additional balloting.
The infrastructure law provided $1 trillion that Biden’s administration is doling out for roads and bridges, broadband networks and water projects across America. The money will be critical not just for the communities getting the help but to the Democratic president’s political theory that voters are hungry for bipartisanship that delivers tangible results.
The perennially congested bridge spanning the Ohio River has frustrated motorists for decades. The infrastructure law will offer more than $1.63 billion in federal grants to Ohio and Kentucky to build a companion bridge that will help unclog traffic on the Brent Spence.
