Mitch McConnell has warned Joe Biden that he faces a 'hell of a fight' over his prized infrastructure bill, describing it as 'wildly inappropriate' and criticizing attempts to pass the plan along party lines.
McConnell, speaking at an event in Kentucky on Tuesday, told the crowd that there would be a 'big argument' about Democrats' plan to use reconciliation, which allows them to bypass Republicans in the Senate, to pass the $1.2 trillion bill.
'There is a process by which they could pass this without a single Republican,' said McConnell, the most senior Republican in the Senate.
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, was in his home state of Kentucky on Tuesday and asked about the $1.7 trillion infrastructure plan. He warned that there would be trouble if Democrats tried to ram it through without Republican support
McConnell, who entered the Senate in 1985, described Biden, who was sworn in as a senator for Delaware in 1973, as an 'old friend' and a good person - even though they disagreed on some issues
'But we're going to make it hard for them. And there are a few Democrats left in rural America and some others who would like to be more in the political center who may find this offensive.'
McConnell, 79, who has been a senator for Kentucky since 1985, said that the impending battle was one of the biggest the country had faced.
'The era of bipartisanship on this stuff is over,' he said.
'This is not going to be done on a bipartisan basis. This is going to be a hell of a fight over what this country ought to look like in the future and it's going to unfold here in the next few weeks.
'I don't think we've had a bigger difference of opinion between the two parties.'
McConnell's remarks come as the Senate is in a two-week July 4 recess.
Biden is seen on April 30 at an event celebrating Amtrak's 50th anniversary. He has made infrastructure a key part of his program
Once it returns, Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, hopes to vote on both a smaller, bipartisan infrastructure plan and the budget resolution - which
