McConnell touts Trump's 'major accomplishments,' congratulates Biden-Harris in floor speech

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday congratulated Joe Biden on his victory and touted some of President Trump's "major accomplishments" during his four years in office.

“President Donald Trump has repeatedly surprised the skeptics, confounded his critics, and delivered significant policy victories that have strengthened our country," McConnell said in a speech on the Senate floor.

The Kentucky Republican mentioned the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine as one accomplishment.

“Back in May, when the president set the goal of finding a pandemic-ending vaccine by the end of this year, his timeline was dismissed by people who assumed they knew better," he said. “Well, with the genius of science, support from Congress, and the bold leadership of the Trump administration, that medical miracle arrived right on schedule."

McConnell continued, “On so many subjects – from economic prosperity to foreign policy to protecting American families – the skeptics doubted him, the critics derided him, but President Trump has delivered."

McConnell cited trade and energy as areas in which Trump followed through on his campaign promises.

“He secured the historic United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and bilateral tax treaties with partners in Europe and Asia," he said. “A nation this productive needs plenty of energy to keep it going. Fortunately, President Trump and his administration ended the ideological war on fossil fuels and hit the accelerator on all-of-the-above American energy dominance."

McConnell also touched upon Trump's foreign policy achievements. 

“Under President Trump’s command, our forces took terrorist leaders like Al-Baghdadi and Soleimani off the battlefield. The physical caliphate that ISIS established on the previous president’s watch was destroyed," he said. "All this paved the way for the Abraham Accords — the historic normalization of relationships between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and most recently Morocco, with the potential for more on the horizon."

McConnell said the Electoral College has spoken and congratulated Biden and his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris. 

"The President-elect is no stranger to the Senate. He has devoted himself to public service for many years," he said. “I also congratulate the Vice President-elect, our colleague from California, Senator Harris. Beyond our differences, all Americans can take pride that our nation has a female Vice President-elect for the first time."