In a rare example of bipartisan collaboration, the United States Senate on Tuesday passed a much-anticipated $1 trillion infrastructure proposal.Spearheaded by Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and GOP Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, the bill includes around $550 billion in new funding for bridges, roads, broadband, rail and water.The proposal is now moving to the House of Representatives, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi has vowed to pass it together with the ambitious $3.5 trillion budget plan.But not everyone was happy with the deal. Former President Donald Trump certainly wasn't.Here's What Trump SaidIn a statement released Tuesday via donaldjtrump.com, Trump blasted Republicans who supported the proposal, taking aim at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell."He has given up all of his leverage for the big whopper of a bill that will follow," Trump said of McConnell."I have quietly said for years that Mitch McConnell is the most overrated man in politics -- now I don’t have to be quiet anymore. He is working so hard to give Biden a victory, now they’ll go for the big one, including the biggest tax increases in the history of our Country."McConnell Responds To CriticismResponding to Trump's attacks, McConnell said in a new interview that infrastructure is a bipartisan issue."Infrastructure is popular with both Republicans and Democrats," McConnell said."The American people, divided, sent us a 50-50 Senate and a narrowly divided House. I don’t think the message from that was, ‘Do absolutely nothing.’ And if you’re going to find an area of potential agreement, I can’t think of a better one than infrastructure, which is desperately needed," the GOP leader argued, as reported by The Hill.McConnell Hits Back At TrumpMcConnell refused to address Trump directly, saying that he is "dealing with the future, not the past."He said that, despite the former president's claims, supporting a bipartisan infrastructure proposal will actually help the GOP win future elections."My judgment was, it would not hurt the Republican Party to be part of an agreement to do something the American people desperately need," he added.Trump has repeatedly lashed out at McConnell and other Republican leaders since leaving office, slamming them for failing to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.Trump's GOPSince leaving the White House, Trump -- who remains very popular with conservative voters -- has worked to maintain control over the Republican Party.Of the 19 Republicans who voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, only four will have to defend their seats in the upcoming midterm elections, according to The Washington Post.Some GOP lawmakers who backed the bill said they did so to show Democrats that the Senate can function without ending the filibuster.Notably, when Trump was in office, he proposed more than $1 trillion in infrastructure spending, but had no support in Congress.
In a rare example of bipartisan collaboration, the United States Senate on Tuesday passed a much-anticipated $1 trillion infrastructure proposal.Spearheaded by Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and GOP Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, the bill includes around $550 billion in new funding for bridges, roads, broadband, rail and water.The proposal is now moving to the House of Representatives, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi has vowed to pass it together with the ambitious $3.5 trillion budget plan.But not everyone was happy with the deal. Former President Donald Trump certainly wasn't.Here's What Trump SaidIn a statement released Tuesday via donaldjtrump.com, Trump blasted Republicans who supported the proposal, taking aim at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell."He has given up all of his leverage for the big whopper of a bill that will follow," Trump said of McConnell."I have quietly said for years that Mitch McConnell is the most overrated man in politics -- now I don’t have to be quiet anymore. He is working so hard to give Biden a victory, now they’ll go for the big one, including the biggest tax increases in the history of our Country."McConnell Responds To CriticismResponding to Trump's attacks, McConnell said in a new interview that infrastructure is a bipartisan issue."Infrastructure is popular with both Republicans and Democrats," McConnell said."The American people, divided, sent us a 50-50 Senate and a narrowly divided House. I don’t think the message from that was, ‘Do absolutely nothing.’ And if you’re going to find an area of potential agreement, I can’t think of a better one than infrastructure, which is desperately needed," the GOP leader argued, as reported by The Hill.McConnell Hits Back At TrumpMcConnell refused to address Trump directly, saying that he is "dealing with the future, not the past."He said that, despite the former president's claims, supporting a bipartisan infrastructure proposal will actually help the GOP win future elections."My judgment was, it would not hurt the Republican Party to be part of an agreement to do something the American people desperately need," he added.Trump has repeatedly lashed out at McConnell and other Republican leaders since leaving office, slamming them for failing to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.Trump's GOPSince leaving the White House, Trump -- who remains very popular with conservative voters -- has worked to maintain control over the Republican Party.Of the 19 Republicans who voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, only four will have to defend their seats in the upcoming midterm elections, according to The Washington Post.Some GOP lawmakers who backed the bill said they did so to show Democrats that the Senate can function without ending the filibuster.Notably, when Trump was in office, he proposed more than $1 trillion in infrastructure spending, but had no support in Congress.
