AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool
- Republican Rep. John Katko defended his vote for the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.
- In a Spectrum 1 interview, Katko credited Reagan for working with Democrats to pass legislation.
- The congressman said that the bill would address the "atrocious state of our infrastructure."
GOP Rep. John Katko of New York on Tuesday defended his support of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure legislation, invoking former President Ronald Reagan as conservative critics direct their ire at members who broke party lines to support the bill.
During an interview with Spectrum News 1, Katko, who was one of only 13 House Republicans to support the legislation, pushed back against Republican angst over the bill by linking its passage to one of the party's most revered figures.
"Ronald Reagan cut deals all the time with Democrats in the House to get things done for the good of the country," the congressman said. "That's what we're supposed to do. This isn't a zero-sum game."
He added: "There's always going to be people in the cheap seats who are going to be naysayers, but that's the nature of the business. But the bottom line is, we got to move this country forward."
The bipartisan legislation, which will appropriate long-sought funding for the nation's highways, bridges, and roads, was crafted by President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of US senators earlier this year, before being taken up and passed by the upper chamber in a 69-30 vote.
Katko said that the bill would address the "atrocious state of our infrastructure."
For months, Republicans watched as disagreements between moderate and progressive Democrats stalled the bipartisan bill, along with the separate $1.75 trillion reconciliation social spending framework. Progressives wanted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California to put both bills up for a vote on the floor at the same time, while moderates pushed for a vote on the bipartisan legislation without tying it to the more expansive Build Back Better Act.
The moderates won out, and after the House approved the bill in a 228-206 vote last week, it will soon be signed into law by Biden.
However, many conservatives remain incensed that the bipartisan framework received any GOP votes at all, especially as the breakaway Republicans enabled the bill to pass after the six members of the progressive "Squad" all rejected the legislation.
Support from members like Katko fueled intense backlash from former President Donald Trump, who has railed against the bill for months, along with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who on Tuesday called for members who backed the legislation to lose their committee assignments.