Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Senate Republican Party, will join President Biden in a rare bipartisan event on Wednesday in Kentucky, where the president is anticipated to promote his $1.2 trillion infrastructure package and broader economic agenda.
As Mr. Biden approaches the midpoint of his term with a split Congress, the visit—which will take place one day after Republicans take control of the House—signals a White House drive for cooperation across party lines.
The president will speak “on how his economic plan is rebuilding our infrastructure, creating good-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, and rejuvenating towns led behind” while on Mr. McConnell’s home turf, according to a White House preview of the trip.
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White House communications director Herbie Ziskend revealed on Twitter that Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican from Kentucky, and Ohio Gov. Andy Beshear will also be present.
To replace the Brent Spence Bridge that connects Ohio and Kentucky, Mr. DeWine and Mr. Beshear last week obtained $1.6 billion under the infrastructure law.
In his Christmas address, Mr. Biden lashed out at the division that still characterizes politics, lamenting how it has “become so furious, so cruel, so political.”
He remarked, “Too frequently, we see one other as rivals rather than as neighbors; as Democrats or Republicans rather than as fellow Americans. “We’re too split now,”
With his “hand outstretched to both parties in Congress, ready to keep putting country ahead of party and staying steadfastly focused on the needs of American families above all else,” Vice President Biden promised to approach the second half of his presidency, White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates wrote in a memo to reporters before the holidays.
He wants to continue cooperating with us to reduce costs, bring more jobs home from abroad, prevent further gun deaths, and keep the American people safe, Mr. Bates added.
