COVINGTON, Ky. — As the drama continued on the House floor, members of both political parties joined President Joe Biden in Covington to celebrate the bipartisan Infrastructure Act and its impact on the Brent Spence Bridge.
Local Democrats and Republicans celebrated the project 30 years in the making Wednesday as the new Congress continued to struggle to decide who will be the next House leader.
Leaders said the Infrastructure Act is something that symbolizes more than just roads and bridges.
"Triumph of common sense and persistence, over pessimism and partisanship," said former Senator Rob Portman. "We set aside our partisan differences, and although we didn't agree on every detail of that infrastructure bill, we worked as hard as we could to find common ground to get it done."
Senator Sherrod Brown called the legislation "what bipartisanship in the United States of America should look like."
"We all know these are really partisan times, but I always feel whoever gets elected, once it's all over, we ought to look for things we can agree on and try to do those," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky. "It's the government working together to solve a major problem at a time when the country needs to see examples like this of coming together and getting an outcome."
Republicans and Democrats praised one another and reached across the political aisle to build a bridge. University of Cincinnati political science professor David Niven said it was reminiscent of the politics "our grandparents experienced."
"Leader McConnell and I don't agree on everything in fact we disagree on a lot of things but here's what matters he's a man of his word when he gives you his word you can take it to the bank and you can count on it and he's willing to find common ground to get things done for the country," said President Joe Biden.
One person missing from the announcement was Congressman-elect Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, who is in D.C. He said his staff still cannot get into their work emails until the House elects a speaker. After their sixth vote, which did not yield enough to elect Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, lawmakers adjourned Wednesday night.
"The American people need us to work on those things, and they aren't getting worked on because of this chaos," said Landsman. "There's no excuse for this, none."
In each of Wednesday's votes, McCarthy could not get the 218 votes needed to become speaker. One reporter asked McCarthy, R-California, if there was any scenario where he would drop out of the race. McCarthy responded with, "no."
"The (former) president (Donald Trump) needs to tell Kevin McCarthy, sir, you do not have the votes and it's time to withdraw," said Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado.
Without a speaker, none of the members can be sworn in and the 118th Congress can't convene or vote on any rules. Members of both parties are unsure whether they can call votes or make motions on the floor because there is no speaker to rule on their requests. Committees can't be formed, and legislation can't be passed.
"This House would not be rebuilding the Brent Spence Bridge," said Niven, who sees this as a rare point in history.
For Niven, he feels the next speaker will be more of a symbolic leader instead of a speaker with power and control of the legislative agenda.
"We're on the verge of something like that whoever Republicans put in that chair, if they bother, offend, disrupt any group of their own party, they're at the mercy of being removed from office," Niven said.
Whether it's burning a bridge or building it, these are two events that show the opposite ends of a bridge in America.
