Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday congratulated President-elect Joe Biden on his victory following the Electoral College’s vote Monday.
“The Electoral College has spoken. So today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden,” McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the Senate floor.
“I also want to congratulate the Vice President-elect, our colleague from California, Senator Harris. Beyond our differences, all Americans can take pride that our nation has a female vice president-elect for the very first time.”
Biden, on his way to Georgia to campaign for the two Democratic candidates running in a Senate runoff election, told reporters that he had talked to McConnell earlier.
“I called to thank him for the congratulations, told him although we disagree on a lot of things, there’s things we can work together on,” Biden said. “We agreed we’d get together sooner than later.” President Trump has not conceded the election and many Republicans avoid saying if he or Biden won.
On Monday, Biden, as expected, took 306 electors to Trump’s 232. The results will be officially tallied at a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6.
McConnell reportedly pleaded with fellow Republicans on an afternoon phone call not to object to Biden’s electoral win on Jan. 6 because it would force a vote in which GOP members would have to break with Trump.
Some House Republicans plan to object to Biden’s win, but they need at least one Senate ally to force a vote during the joint session. McConnell told his peers it would be a “terrible vote,” according to Politico reporter Jake Sherman. His office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
McConnell will be the most powerful Republican in Washington next year and will be counted on by conservatives to reject Biden’s policy objectives, or broker grand compromises.
Republicans will control at least 50 Senate seats next year, pending the results of the two Georgia runoff races on Jan. 5. If McConnell returns as majority leader, he can block legislation and nominees.
Even in the minority, McConnell would be able to lead Republicans in filibusters to frustrate Biden’s agenda.
However, the Republican leader started off on a positive note, saying Biden, who was a senator from Delaware from 1973-2009, “is no stranger to the Senate. He’s devoted himself to public service for many years.”
Biden and McConnell have been coy about acknowledging contact with each other amid recounts and litigation in swing states that Trump narrowly lost. They recently refused to say if they had spoken about COVID-19 relief legislation under negotiation.
After the Electoral College vote, Biden said Monday night that seven “mostly senior” Republican senators called him to offer congratulations.
McConnell praised Trump at length in his Tuesday speech.
“The outsider who swore he would shake up Washington and lead our country to new accomplishments both at home and abroad proceeded to do exactly that. President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence deserve our thanks and gratitude for their tireless work,” he said