Sen. Klobuchar Touts Bipartisanship in Discussion With Former Sen. Rob Portman

Sen. Klobuchar Touts Bipartisanship in Discussion With Former Sen. Rob Portman
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden elbow bumps Sen. Amy Klobuchar, (D-Minn.) after he spoke at a union training center in Hermantown, Minn., on Sept. 18, 2020. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
Nathan Worcester
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At a time of significant political polarization, a former Republican lawmaker and a current Democratic Senator sat down to discuss cooperation across party lines—and found a few safe points of agreement on Trump and Biden in the federal government’s town.

“We have had a lot of bipartisan successes,” said Rob Portman, formerly a Republican senator from Ohio.

Portman retired from the Senate this year after opting not to seek a third term. His seat has been filled by Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).

President Joe Biden, is joined by, from left to right, Sen Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), speaks after the bipartisan group of Senators reached a deal on an infrastructure package at the White House on June 24, 2021 (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
President Joe Biden, is joined by, from left to right, Sen Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), speaks after the bipartisan group of Senators reached a deal on an infrastructure package at the White House on June 24, 2021 Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

He sat down with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

“Working with Amy, we passed a lot of legislation together,” Portman said. He cited the last Congress’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.

“Initially, President Biden’s proposal for infrastructure was dead on arrival because it had huge taxes in it and a lot of non-infrastructure spending,” he said, adding that the Biden White House had been “helpful.”

Portman noted that the media consistently wrote off the infrastructure bill because of sniping between Democrats and Republicans.

“But we just kept focusing on that objective, which is, ‘How do you get this thing done?’” he added.

He contrasted the infrastructure bill achievement under Biden with what had happened to infrastructure bills under previous presidents from both parties, including Trump.

Trump, Portman said, had upped the ante during a meeting with Senate Democrats. They wanted $1 trillion in infrastructure spending.

“He said in his way, ‘I’m a builder–we’re going to do $2 trillion.’ And of course, they did zero,” he said, drawing laughs from the audience.

President Donald Trump walks away after announcing that he cut short an infrastructure meeting with top Democrats because of an onslaught of Democrat-led investigations in the Rose Garden at the White House on May 22, 2019. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump walks away after announcing that he cut short an infrastructure meeting with top Democrats because of an onslaught of Democrat-led investigations in the Rose Garden at the White House on May 22, 2019. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Trump Troubles Klobuchar

The two Midwesterners spoke at American University, where they were receiving the Madison Prize for Constitutional Excellence.
“The Madison Prize for Constitutional Excellence will honor national legislators who have recognized the necessity for compromise in our politics and have shown that the public interest is more important than party doctrine,” American University’s web page on the award states.

“Thanks to Senators Portman and Klobuchar for having the courage to seek compromise as one way to achieve success,” said Vicky Wilkins, dean of the American University School of Public Affairs, in her introduction.

American University President Sylvia Burwell moderated the discussion.

Burwell served as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama next to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, speaks to the media about Ebola during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on Oct. 15, 2014. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Barack Obama next to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, speaks to the media about Ebola during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on Oct. 15, 2014. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

When asked for an example of a bipartisan success, Klobuchar referred to the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022. The measure passed roughly two years after the contested 2020 election as part of an omnibus bill.

“This was viewed as [one that] possibly could go partisan on us really fast,” she said.

“I was really proud of the committee, actually, the Rules Committee. With the exception of one person—okay, Ted Cruz—all the Republicans voted for the bill,” added the lawmaker, who was being honored for her commitment to bipartisanship and compromise.

Klobuchar appealed to the memory of Jan. 6, 2021, recalling how the events shaped her thinking on the electoral process.

The Electoral Reform bill affected the way electors are counted, undercutting some of the challenges to the 2020 presidential election that culminated in the incident.

“That memory of [Sen.] Roy [Blunt, (R-Mo.)] and me and Vice President Pence walking at 4 in the morning is forever etched—and defined my work in the past few years—walking over the broken glass and the pillar of spray-painted vulgarities, which in the morning had been this celebration was something that just meant to me, we can’t let this ever happen again,” she continued.

Former Vice President Mike Pence meets with guests at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition in Clive, Iowa, on April 22, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)
Former Vice President Mike Pence meets with guests at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition in Clive, Iowa, on April 22, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Klobuchar also blamed the Trump administration for halting bipartisan immigration legislation.

She suggested that “the era of Donald Trump and the insurrection and the like” has caused “people to step back” and assess the degree to which Americans were losing a sense of community.

“What are the signs that we could kind of swing back the other way? I think that the first sign was American pushback after Trump, honestly, and the pushback even in the midterms [when] election deniers were on the ballot,” she added.

Nathan Worcester
Nathan Worcester
Author
Nathan Worcester covers national politics for The Epoch Times and has also focused on energy and the environment. Nathan has written about everything from fusion energy and ESG to Biden's classified documents and international conservative politics. He lives and works in Chicago. Nathan can be reached at [email protected].
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