总统乔·拜登周三，嘲笑参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔承认他的家乡肯塔基州将从拜登政府支持的美国救援计划中获得资金——尽管麦康奈尔没有投票赞成。
拜登在伊利诺伊州宣传他的“重建得更好”议程，并推销两党基础设施一揽子计划以及民主党人希望通过和解通过的第二个更大的“人力基础设施”一揽子计划——这一进程使他们能够绕过国会通过法案所需的通常60票门槛。
美国广播公司新闻首席白宫记者塞西莉亚·维加向总统询问了麦康奈尔周二就其基础设施计划发表的言论。
维加对拜登说:“米奇·麦康奈尔说，你在这件事上会大吵一架。
“米奇·麦康奈尔喜欢我们的节目，”总统笑着说。
索尔·勒布/法新社，通过盖蒂图像公司
乔·拜登总统在访问麦克亨利国会后谈到了他的重建更好的经济计划...
他补充说共和党领袖就在周二，他承认，尽管他不支持1.9万亿美元新冠肺炎(新型冠状病毒肺炎)救助方案于3月通过，其资金将帮助麦康奈尔的选民。
“你看到米奇·麦康奈尔说的话了吗?他告诉我，在在座各位的帮助下，他不会为了让我得到那1.9万亿美元而投一票...经济增长计划，”他说。“查一下，伙计。他在肯塔基州吹嘘这件事。”
“这对肯塔基州来说是一件了不起的事情，它获得了40亿美元来帮助穷人——这太神奇了，”拜登模仿麦康奈尔，并广泛打手势。
事实上，麦康奈尔在他的家乡周二的一次活动中做到了谈谈美国救援计划。
“所以你会得到更多的钱。我没有投赞成票。但你会得到更多的钱，”他说。“我给立法机构成员和其他公职人员的建议是明智地使用这笔钱，因为希望这笔意外之财不会再次出现。”
他还誓言，如果民主党人试图通过一项数万亿美元的基础设施计划，共和党人将发动一场“激烈的战斗”。
“这不会在两党合作的基础上完成。这将是一场关于这个国家未来应该是什么样子的激烈斗争，它将在未来几周内在这里展开。我认为我们两党之间没有更大的意见分歧，”麦康奈尔说。
亚历克斯·王/盖蒂图像公司
参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔在每周参议院会议后的新闻发布会上聆听..
拜登周三访问了伊利诺伊州的水晶湖，该地区是前总统唐纳德·特朗普在2020年赢得的，但由民主党众议员劳伦·安德伍德代表。
拜登在参观麦克亨利县学院后发表讲话时表示，希望国家解决基础设施问题不会像过去一样拖延下去，成为一个持续的笑话。
“上帝保佑，我们不会有40 - 40周的‘这是基础设施周’。”你记得那些吗?”他说，指的是特朗普政府时期的事件。
拜登的演讲重点是推销“美国家庭计划”的“人力基础设施”方面，他最后称之为“无聊”但“重要”，称之为“必不可少的”，也是他希望纳入和解法案的国内议程的“第二个关键部分”。
他说:“为了真正赢得21世纪，并再次领导世界，为了真正建立一个自下而上和自上而下的经济，为了在这个时候真正与每个人打交道，我们需要投资于我们的人民。
当参议院下周返回华盛顿时，希望推进拜登基础设施议程的议员们将争分夺秒，在夏季结束前穿越岌岌可危的政治版图。
Biden taunts McConnell for 'bragging' about relief bill he voted against
PresidentJoe Bidentaunted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday for having acknowledged his home state of Kentucky will receive money from the Biden administration-backed American Rescue Plan -- despite McConnell not having voted for it.
Biden was in Illinois to promote his his "Build Back Better" agenda and sell thebipartisan infrastructure packageand a second, larger package on "human infrastructure" that Democrats are hoping to pass through reconciliation -- a process which allows them to bypass the usual 60-vote threshold necessary to pass bills in Congress.
ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega asked the president about remarks McConnell made Tuesday on his infrastructure packages.
"Mitch McConnell says you're in for a heck of a fight on this one," Vega said to Biden.
"Mitch McConnell loves our programs," the president said with a smile.
He added thatthe Republican leaderhad acknowledged, as recently as Tuesday, that although he did not support the $1.9 trillionCOVID-19relief package passed in March, its funding will help McConnell's constituents.
"Have you seen what Mitch McConnell said? He told me he wasn't going to get a single vote in order to allow me to get, with the help of everybody here, that $1.9 trillion ... program for economic growth," he said. "Look it up, man. He's bragging about it in Kentucky."
"It's a great thing for Kentucky, it's getting $4 billion to help poor -- it's amazing," Biden added, mimicking McConnell and gesturing widely.
In fact, McConnell at an event on Tuesday in his home state didtalk about the American Rescue Plan.
"So you're gonna get a lot more money. I didn't vote for it. But you're gonna get a lot more money," he said." My advice to members of the legislatures and other public officials is spend it wisely, because hopefully this windfall doesn't come around again."
He also vowed that Republicans would wage a "hell of a fight" if Democrats attempt to pass a sweeping multi-trillion dollar infrastructure plan along party lines.
"This is not going to be done on a bipartisan basis. This is going to be a hell of a fight over what this country ought to look like in the future and it's going to unfold here in the next few weeks. I don't think we've had a bigger difference of opinion between the two parties," McConnell said.
Biden on Wednesday visited Crystal Lake, Illinois, a district former President Donald Trump won in 2020 but that is represented by Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood.
In remarks following a tour of McHenry County College, Biden expressed hope that the nation addressing infrastructure will not just drag on and become a running joke as it has been in the past.
"God willing, we're not gonna have 40 -- 40 weeks of, 'this is infrastructure week.' Do you remember those?" he said, referring to events during the Trump administration.
Biden focused his speech -- which he concluded by describing as "boring" but "important" -- on selling the "human infrastructure" aspects of the American Families Plan, calling it "essential" and the "second critical part" of his domestic agenda that he hopes to include in a reconciliation bill.
"To truly win the 21st Century and once again lead the world, to truly build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, to truly deal everybody in this time, we need to invest in our people," he said.
When the Senate returns to Washington next week, lawmakers hoping to move on Biden's infrastructure agenda will be in a race against the clock to navigate a precarious political landscape before the summer comes to a close.
