Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., won't attend a White House signing ceremony Monday for the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF), after being mocked by former President Donald Trump.
''No, I've got other things I've got to do other than go to the signing ceremony,'' McConnell told WHAS, a Louisville radio station, according to The Hill.
McConnell voted for the bill, along with 19 Senate and 13 House Republicans, which sparked criticism from Trump in his latest public statement.
''Why is it that Old Crow Mitch McConnell voted for a terrible Democrat Socialist Infrastructure Plan, and induced others in his party to do likewise, when he was incapable of getting a great Infrastructure Plan wanting to be put forward by me and the Republican Party?'' Trump asked at the beginning of his statement.
Despite Trump's misgivings, McConnell has touted the infrastructure bill, which will give significant money to his state, primarily to increase broadband access.
''This bill was basically written in the Senate by a bipartisan group,'' McConnell said in the WHAS interview. ''I think it was good for the country, and I'm glad it passed.''
McConnell has made it a priority to stress the difference between BIF and the "Build Back Better" (BBB) plan that the Democrats will try to pass without GOP votes in the House or Senate, a distinction Trump sees as erroneous.
The Build Back Better plan is ''not something we ought to be doing. We've spent quite enough this year. It's time to stop spending,'' McConnell told WHAS.
In a floor speech earlier this year, McConnell said Trump was ''practically and morally responsible'' for the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, according to The Associated Press.
Trump's latest comments continue the rift.
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