McConnell, Reid slam report of strained relationship
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pushed back on Thursday against suggestions that their relationship has turned sour after a series of political fights.
“No one knows our personal relationship expect him and me,” the Democratic leader said from the Senate floor.
{mosads}Reid added on Twitter that while he and McConnell have “difficult jobs … we also have respect for each other and a personal friendship.”
The comments come after Politico reported that the relationship between the two lawmakers hit a “new low” amid a battle over reauthorizing healthcare benefits for 9/11 first responders.
Last month, top Democrats, including Reid, suggested that McConnell was to blame for holding up the funding from being included as part of a long-term highway bill.
While the two senators frequently battle both on and off the Senate floor over a myriad of policy and political fights, Reid said on Thursday that the article “really troubled me.”
McConnell added that he was “frustrated … in the tendency to personalize political differences.”
“There’s nothing wrong with our personal relationship, whether it’s watching baseball or a lot of other things we discuss,” he said. “I really appreciate the opportunity that you’ve given for both of us to kind of clear the air here.”