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| The House remained in a state of chaos for a second day in a row on Wednesday, with Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy unable to round up the votes he needs to be elected House speaker. |
| But while the House was drowning in disarray, President Joe Biden provided a dramatic split-screen moment when he traveled to Kentucky to promote infrastructure and bipartisanship. His companion for the trip: Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. |
| Hi OnPolitics readers, it's White House correspondent Michael Collins. Here's the latest. |
| What happened in the House: Business ground to a halt for the second day as McCarthy failed to get enough votes to be elected speaker on the fourth, fifth and sixth ballots, continuing a string of stinging defeats and a tumultuous day in the lower chamber. |
| A day earlier, McCarthy failed to secure enough votes from his political party to win the gavel, denied the 218 votes he needed by a cadre of Republican hardliners in three separate ballots. It was the first time in a century that a speaker was not elected on the first round. |
| The situation has left Congress stymied, since no member of the House can be sworn in and no rules can be adopted until a speaker is chosen. |
| What's the end game for McCarthy and the GOP? Good question. At this point, no one knows. Up to 20 conservatives seem determined to keep McCarthy out of the speaker's chair. McCarthy, on the other hand, shows no signs of dropping out of the race. So, for now, the drama drags on. |
| What about Biden?: As divided House Republicans remain locked in their chaotic fight over the next speaker, Biden and McConnell signaled a very different vibe: bipartisanship. |
| Biden and McConnell made a rare joint appearance in McConnell's home state to highlight last year's bipartisan infrastructure law. |
| 📜 The law, which McConnell backed, provides $1.63 billion in federal infrastructure funds to upgrade the congested Brent Spence Bridge, which crosses the Ohio River between Covington, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, and to build a new companion bridge. |
| From the stage in Covington, Biden gave a shoutout to McConnell, labeling the senator as "a man of his word" and noting that when Democrats and Republicans work together, "we can get things done." |
| Biden and McConnell go back a long way – they've known each other since Biden was a Democratic senator from Delaware. As reporter Joey Garrison notes, though the two are political rivals, they've enjoyed a working relationship over the years and consider each other friends. |
| Why it matters: For Biden, the joint appearance with McConnell offered a chance to contrast his renewed pledge to work across the aisle – and his focus on governing – with a new Republican-controlled House, which can't even get its act together to elect a new speaker but has vowed to investigate his son, Hunter Biden, and block his agenda. |
| "That's not my problem," Biden said of the speaker vote as he was departing the White House for Kentucky. But, he added: "I just think it's really embarrassing it's taking so long." |
| For McConnell, tagging along with the president enabled him to illustrate that, unlike the tumultuous House, the Senate Republican Caucus remains a place of order that is focused on results. |
Real quick: More stories you'll want to read: |
| • | Catch up on Day 1 of a new Congress: McCarthy denied and Santos in House: 5 takeaways from the tumultuous first day. | | • | FTX founder's plea: Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan federal courthouse to allegations he misappropriated billions of dollars on his cryptocurrency exchange and thereby engaged in one of the largest fraud schemes in U.S. history. | | • | Some immigration fees could increase: The Biden administration is proposing a fee hike for some immigration costs, including increasing certain employment-based visas, while keeping costs for other migrants the same or lower. | | • | Capitol pipe bomb probe: The FBI issued a new appeal for public help to identify the suspect who planted pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic national committee headquarters the night before the Capitol assault, raising the reward to $500,000. | | • | N.H. Dems: We 'likely do not have the power to change our election laws': New Hampshire lawmakers say they are unable to meet a key Democratic National Committee requirement to remain an early presidential nominating state and are pleading with the party not to respond with stiff penalties. 📅 | |
| 📍 Biden intends to visit U.S.-Mexico border: This would be Biden's first trip to the border as president. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisles have criticized Biden for not visiting the border even as ports of entry have seen surges of migrants. He announced his "intentions" for a stop during an upcoming trip to Mexico for a summit. |
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