McConnell Says ‘Zero’ Republicans Will Back Biden’s Infrastructure Package
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No Republican senator will back President Biden’s infrastructure plan as written, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said at a press conference on Monday.
“I don’t think there will be any Republican support — none, zero — for the $4.1 trillion grab bag which has infrastructure in it but a whole lot of other stuff,” McConnell told reporters. “We’re open to doing a roughly $600 billion package which deals with what all of us agree is infrastructure….If it’s going to be about infrastructure, let’s make it about infrastructure.”
McConnell’s reference to a “$4.1 trillion grab bag” would include Biden’s roughly $2 trillion infrastructure package as well as his $1.8 trillion “American Families Plan,” which invests heavily in education and childcare.
The minority leader has previously vowed to “fight” the infrastructure bill “every step of the way.”
“My view of infrastructure is that we ought to build that which we can afford and not either whack the economy with major tax increases or run up the national debt even more,” McConnell said in April.
In addition to repairing roads, bridges, and other infrastructure networks, the Biden infrastructure bill provides $174 billion toward a national network of charging stations for electric vehicles, along with other incentives to manufacture EV’s. Senate Republicans have proposed a $568 billion infrastructure plan that would upgrade roads, public transit, and rural broadband access over the next five years.
However, with the Senate tied 50-50 and Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking vote, Democrats will likely attempt to pass their infrastructure plan via budget reconciliation rules. Those rules allow legislation to pass the Senate via a simple majority vote, rather than the filibuster-proof 60-vote threshold.
