Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg touted the bipartisanship of the infrastructure package to reporters on Monday, saying that the cooperation might have been harder for Republicans than Democrats.
Nineteen Republican senators voted in favor of the bill in August, and 13 GOPers helped push it over the line in the House late Friday night.
“To me, these provisions were rightly so popular that the only thing that was tough was for some Republicans to stand up to those who wanted them to choose party over what was right for their community,” Buttigieg said during an afternoon press briefing.
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The shot came in response to a reporter’s question about how much partisan jockeying occurred during the late-stage debate over the bill, which the House passed late on Friday by a 228-206 vote. Six Democrats voted against the bill.
“We’re really proud of the bipartisan character of this bill,” Buttigieg began. “The conversations we had, it wasn’t transactional like that. It didn’t have to be because these investments were already so good for the communities that these members represented.”
The $1.2 trillion measure passed the Senate on Aug. 10 and had been languishing in the House, where liberals had refused to help pass it unless a $1.75 trillion social welfare bill was approved along with it.
The infrastructure measure was pushed over the finish line in the House after last-minute lobbying from the president, who called reluctant liberals huddled in a committee room to assure them the social welfare bill, which he named the Build Back Better Act, would not be left behind.
The Build Back Better Act has so far been a strictly partisan measure, with Democrats fighting among themselves over the details. But the infrastructure bill was at least partially successful in attracting members of both parties.
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“I believe strongly that good policy is good politics,” said Buttigieg. “And I think it’s going to reflect well on anybody who voted to deliver these big wins and these jobs for their communities. I think that’s just clear on its face from it being such good legislation.”
