The Grind:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Tuesday, marking the first time he has directly acknowledged their victory.
“The Electoral College has spoken, so today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. The president-elect is no stranger to the Senate. He’s devoted himself to public service for many years,” McConnell said.
McConnell added that “many of us hoped that the presidential election would yield a different result, but our system of government has processes to determine who will be sworn in on January 20.”
The Details:
The GOP leader’s remarks come a day after the Electoral College officially certified Biden’s win and a growing number of Republican senators, including most of the Senate GOP leadership team, acknowledged him as the president-elect. McConnell didn’t respond to questions about Biden’s status on Monday.
McConnell also gave Harris a shoutout on Tuesday, saying that “Americans can take pride that our nation has a female vice president-elect for the very first time.”
While McConnell has now congratulated Biden, neither House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) nor House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) have acknowledged him as president-elect. Read more…