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Huge smile on the faces of Biden and McConnell as their event in Kentucky concludes pic.twitter.com/S9N6OqudmR
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 4, 2023
COVINGTON, Ky. — Joe Biden’s first public appearance of 2023 came alongside a Republican lawmaker reviled by progressives, someone opposed to much of the White House agenda. But on Wednesday, a smiling Biden feted Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell as a friend, colleague and “man of his word.”
“It wouldn’t have happened without your hand,” Biden told McConnell during a trip to Kentucky to celebrate the infrastructure law. “He’s willing to find common ground to get things done for the country.”
The rare joint appearance represented an early effort to signal the White House’s eagerness for cooperation ahead of a politically combative next two years.
It was also an attempt at political inoculation. The White House specifically invited McConnell along with other senators and governors from Kentucky and Ohio, and used the event as a chance for Biden to highlight the $1.6 billion slated to rebuild a bridge between the two states as a bipartisan success story.
Biden aides and allies say they’re counting on the minority leader to remain something of a bulwark against the GOP’s riskier impulses — hammered home this week by chaos on the House floor over the election of a new speaker. The White House recognizes the need to avoid a government shutdown, keep aid to Ukraine flowing and stave off a catastrophic breach of the debt ceiling. They see McConnell as key to all those items.
“There’s still going to be strong partisan differences on a large majority of issues,” said an adviser to the White House. “But they both understand that when you can agree, you should if it’s in the best interest of the country and it serves your political purpose.”
It’s one big club and you’re not in it pic.twitter.com/yVWXFu88EM
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 4, 2023
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