Why Republican Rand Paul invited Democrat Craig Greenberg to the State of the Union

When Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg got a call from Sen. Rand Paul, he did not expect an invite to attend the State of the Union address.

"I was honored to be asked," Greenberg said. "I think it's a great opportunity to raise Louisville's profile in Congress and Washington, D.C."

Each member of Congress can select one guest for the annual address.

"I found (Greenberg) to be very reasonable and I enjoy talking to him," Paul said. "I was thinking with a Democrat president, some of my Republican friends might not really want the invitation as much."

Greenberg, a Democrat, and Paul, a Republican, differ on many political stances — including gun control.

Paul has voted against various gun control measures, including the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voted in favor of.

Greenberg, on the other hand, called for the state legislature to change laws to give the city more authority to set its own gun policies following the Old National Bank shooting. He recently voiced his support for Kentucky House Bill 696, which would require people to wait five business days between the purchase and possession of a firearm.

Paul first spoke to Greenberg after Quintez Brown attempted to shoot the then-mayoral candidate at his campaign office.

"I first came in contact with (Greenberg) after there was the attempted assassination," Paul said. "We reached out to him to wish him well for having survived."

The two have spoken multiple times since then about finding bipartisan solutions to violence.

"We're trying to find common ground even though we may not be politically aligned on a lot of issues, but I think he's been able to address the situation in a nonpartisan way," Paul said.

Greenberg said he is "very focused on things I can do as mayor in a bipartisan fashion to move Louisville forward" and he wants "to work with people regardless of what their party affiliation is."

While Greenberg and Paul will sit in different areas during the address, they will spend time together in D.C., Paul said.

This will include a "private dinner" with "just the U.S. Senators — both Republican and Democrat — and one guest," which will likely be followed by a tour of the Senate floor, Paul said.

In the nation's capital, Greenberg hopes to "raise Louisville's profile in D.C., with Congress, with the Biden administration" and keep Louisville on the radar of those "who are making investment decisions at the federal level."

He said the city has been a "huge beneficiary of President Biden's agenda and accomplishments," citing the $388 million Louisville received in American Rescue Plan money.

It will be President Joe Biden's third annual address to Congress — and his last before the 2024 presidential election.

Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at EMcCrary@courier-journal.com or at @ellie_mccrary on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Why Rand Paul is bringing Craig Greenberg to the State of the Union