President Joe Biden congratulated McCarthy on his election as House Speaker in a statement issued shortly before 1 a.m. ET.
“Jill and I congratulate Kevin McCarthy on his election as Speaker of the House,” said Biden.
“I am prepared to work with Republicans when I can and voters made clear that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well,” he added.
Despite Biden’s cordial statement, he has made little secret this week of his concerns about how long it was taking Republicans to elect a speaker.
“I just think it’s really embarrassing it’s taking so long,” Biden said Wednesday en route to Kentucky for an even with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Ky.
The split screen images of Biden’s bipartisan trip and McCarthy’s chaotic vote-a-rama back in Washington drew widespread commentary, and Biden mentioned his trip again in his congratulatory statement on McCarthy.
“As the last two years show, we can do profound things for the country when we do them together,” said Biden. “For example, this week I traveled to Kentucky to highlight the growing benefits that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is bringing to communities all over the country.”
As both Biden and McCarthy know well, McCarthy voted against the infrastructure bill, and several members of his caucus defied him to help get it passed in the House.
