President Biden told governors from across the country on Saturday that “we can get big things done if we work together” in a bipartisan way across the political aisle.
Biden gave remarks during a dinner at the National Governors Association winter meeting at the White House, emphasizing that members of the two parties are not going to always agree but can still work together to help their constituents.
“We’re the United States of America. We can get big things done if we do it together,” Biden said, according to the White House press pool.
He said governors need to be able to “get things done” quickly — like fixing potholes and addressing crime, and can’t say “we’re going to debate it for six months.” Biden added that he wanted to ensure he had many former governors and mayors serving in his administration, because they need to take decisive action.
Members of Biden’s current Cabinet, such as Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, all formerly served as governors.
Biden pointed to the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that he signed into law in 2021 as an example of what bipartisan efforts can accomplish.
He said he will try to get “a little bit less partisan” and hopes others will too.
“I said I wanted to be president for everybody. Not just blue states or red states,” Biden said.
“And again, we’re not going to agree, we’re not going to always agree, but I think when we work together, it works,” he added later, according to the pool.
The president thanked the governors for their work, saying that he does not think “it’s been a tougher two years being a governor.” He noted that the past two to six years have required them to be “on [their] toes” and ready to answer any question they are asked.
Biden said during remarks at the meeting on Friday that governors should work to implement what his administration has already done amid a divided Congress for the next two years but added that “we have to finish the job.”
Governors from more than 30 states and territories attended the dinner on Saturday.