Christianted, US Virgin Islands (AP) — President Joe Biden And the senior government official will ring in the new year of a divided government by inciting the nation to talk about how the economy is benefiting from his work with Democrats and Republicans.
Biden and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell as part of the pitch They make a rare appearance together in McConnell’s home state of Kentucky on Wednesday to highlight nearly $1 trillion in infrastructure spending approved bipartisanly by lawmakers. 2021 years.
The Democratic president also has bipartisan elects visiting Kentucky’s side of the Cincinnati area, including Senator Sherrod Brown, Ohio Democrat, Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. I plan to join the group of officials. said the White House.
Biden’s bipartisan blitz announced two days before Republicans regain control of the House From the Democrats on Tuesday after the Republicans won the November election. The transition would end the unified political control of Congress by Democrats and complicate Biden’s future legislative agenda. Democrats remain in power in the Senate.
Before leaving Washington on vacation late last year, Biden appealed for less partisanship“Not as Democrats or Republicans, not as members of ‘Team Red’ or ‘Team Blue’, but for who we really are, as fellow Americans.” There is
The president’s visit appeared to be linked to the recent announcement that Kentucky and Ohio will receive more than $1.63 billion in federal grants to help build a new Ohio River bridge. Near Cincinnati, improve an existing overloaded span, a frequently used freight route connecting the Midwest and South.
Congestion at the Brent Spence Bridge on Interstates 75 and 71 has for years been a frustrating bottleneck on a critical shipping corridor and a symbol of America’s growing infrastructure needs. According to officials, the bridge was built in the 1960s to carry about 80,000 vehicles a day, but its narrow lane saw twice as much traffic as it did on federal roads. The Administration declared the bridge functionally obsolete.
The planned project will cover about 8 miles (12 kilometers) and will include improvements to the bridge and some connecting roads, as well as construction of a nearby companion span.States coordinate to demand funding under nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal Biden signed in 2021.
McConnell said the companion bridge “will be one of the bill’s crowning achievements.”
DeWine said the two states have been talking about the project for almost 20 years, “and now we can finally move beyond talks and get to work.”
Officials hope to break ground later this year and complete much of the work by 2029.
Biden’s visit could also give Beshear a political boost as he seeks re-election this year in a Republican-majority state.
In a December 2022 interview with The Associated Press, Beshear gave a mixed review of Biden’s job performance.Mr. Biden joined Beshear last year to tour Kentucky’s tornado- and flood-hit areas.
“Sometimes I think I did well, sometimes I wish I could have done better,” Beshear said of Biden.
Other senior government officials are also expected to help push Biden’s economic policies this week.
Vice President Kamala Harris in Chicago on Wednesday The White House said in a statement, “How the president’s economic plan will rebuild our infrastructure, create high-paying jobs — jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, and help marginalized communities. He said that he plans to discuss whether to activate the
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also delivered the same message Wednesday in New London, Connecticut.
Mitch Landrieuthe White House official tasked with facilitating infrastructure spendingjoins soon-to-be former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco, where she will represent in Congress.
Biden was due to return to the White House on Monday after spending about a week with his family in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The president kicked off New Year’s Day on Sunday by attending mass at Christiansted’s Holy Cross Catholic Church, where he has seen the first sunrise of 2023 and attended religious services during past visits to the island.
