It happened again.
A GOP member of Congress — this time Rep. Pete Stauber (Minn.) — attempted to take evident credit for the enactment of a legislatively originating plan that he actually opposed. The plan at issue was, this time, the bipartisan deal on infrastructure spending widely touted by Democrats and the Biden administration. Stauber said he was “proud to announce that Duluth, MN and Superior, WI have received over 1 billion in federal funding to help replace the Blatnik Bridge,” adding he “was proud to advocate for these funds!” The full story was exposed even by his own governor, Minnesota Democrat Tim Walz.
“Oh boy. I hate to talk politics when there’s good news to celebrate but this is too brazen to ignore. Mr. Stauber voted against every screw, steel beam, and concrete pier in this bridge. Luckily @POTUS worked with Stauber’s colleagues and got it done without him. Thanks, Joe!” Walz wrote in a direct reply to a social media post from the GOP Congressman.
Even the White House’s official account on the platform — X, formerly Twitter — joined. “POV: You voted against President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law but are taking credit for it,” a reply said.
A press release from Stauber on the funding made available for those bridge improvement efforts doesn’t mention his vote against the infrastructure funding package actually providing the federal money that’s being given. “Congressman Stauber has consistently advocated for these funds, sending several letters to the Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and President Joe Biden,” it simply states. Per figures included in the same release, the federal money will cover the majority of the currently calculated costs for the project.
Elsewhere in the GOP, partisans have rushed to use transportation issues — an area covered by this bill so many of them opposed — as an attempted political cudgel against figures like Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. If they’re that concerned, there have been a series of actual initiatives in Congress they could support!
Oh boy. I hate to talk politics when there’s good news to celebrate but this is too brazen to ignore.
Mr. Stauber voted against every screw, steel beam, and concrete pier in this bridge.
Luckily @POTUS worked with Stauber’s colleagues and got it done without him.
Thanks, Joe! https://t.co/YZjjvMS4U1
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) January 22, 2024
