Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will join President Joe Biden on Wednesday for an unusual event in the senator's state.
They plan to highlight nearly $1 trillion in infrastructure spending, part of a bipartisan bill passed in 2021. McConnell joined Democrats in voting for the legislation, drawing rebuke from former President Donald Trump and other conservative Republicans.
McConnell is one of several Republicans under scrutiny after helping Democrats pass legislation, including the infrastructure bill in 2021 and the omnibus spending bill in 2022; the latter was signed into law Thursday.
Trump has been critical of McConnell, especially when discussing the impacts of the omnibus bill in a video posted on Truth Social. Trump called McConnell a "disaster" and said McConnell is "more Democrat than a Republican."
Republican Sens. Mitt Romney, Utah; Lindsey Graham, S.C.; Rob Portman, Ohio; and Tom Cotton, Ark., voted yes to the omnibus bill, which totals $1.7 trillion in government funding and discretionary spending for fiscal 2023.
Joining Biden and McConnell in Covington, Kentucky, on Wednesday will be Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, from Ohio; Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, also a Democrat; and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, according to The Associated Press.
"The President will deliver remarks on how his economic plan is rebuilding our infrastructure, creating good-paying jobs that don't require a four-year degree, and revitalizing communities left behind," the brief advisory from the White House read.
Wednesday's meeting participants plan to address the congestion at the Bren Spence Bridge on Interstates 75 and 71, which has been bottlenecked for years. Plans are in the works to build a new Ohio River bridge near Cincinnati, Ohio.