First lady Jill Biden lamented the partisanship that permeates Capitol Hill and politics writ large, telling governors at the White House that she wished more lawmakers would follow their lead. She spoke on Friday in the White House’s East Room to state chief executives who were in Washington for the winter gathering of the National Governors Association. During her brief remarks, Biden recalled something that Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, had told her when she visited his state last year.
Quick Read
- First Lady Jill Biden expressed concern over the high levels of partisanship in U.S. politics during a White House event with governors from the National Governors Association.
- She highlighted remarks from Republican Governors Phil Scott of Vermont and Spencer Cox of Utah, emphasizing the need for progress over politics and the public’s frustration with congressional gridlock.
- Biden praised the bipartisanship demonstrated by the governors in attendance and expressed a desire for Congress to emulate their approach.
The Associated Press has the story:
Jill Biden urges ‘gridlocked Congress’ to emulate Governors
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP) —
First lady Jill Biden lamented the partisanship that permeates Capitol Hill and politics writ large, telling governors at the White House that she wished more lawmakers would follow their lead.
She spoke on Friday in the White House’s East Room to state chief executives who were in Washington for the winter gathering of the National Governors Association. During her brief remarks, Biden recalled something that Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, had told her when she visited his state last year.
“What you said really stayed with me,” Biden said. “You said pure partisan politics has never contributed to real solutions, and that we can and should prioritize progress over politics, especially on issues where the majority of Americans agree.”
That majority, Biden said, is “an exhausted one.”
“As Gov. Cox often points out, they’re frustrated by a Congress that is often mired in gridlock, and those who too often treat government like a sport with an us-versus-them mindset and a knee-jerk reaction to oppose anything you know the other team supports,” Biden said, referring to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, also a Republican who is the current chairman of the governors’ association.
But the group of governors at the White House demonstrates that bipartisanship is possible, Biden said.
“I wish that the lawmakers on the Hill would follow your lead,” she added.
