Congressman Pete Stauber speaks prior to then-Vice President Mike Pence at the Hibbing, Minn., Airport, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, during a campaign stop. (AP Photo/Jack Rendulich)

In a press release from Monday, U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) claimed to have “long-fought” for federal funding for infrastructure projects, despite voting against the bill which secured the funds.

After the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded over $1 billion to the cities of Duluth, Minn. and Superior, Wis. to replace the Blatnik Bridge, Stauber took credit for “securing the critical investment.”

“The Blatnik Bridge is aging, and its restoration is essential to ensuring continued economic success, which is why I have long fought for these funds,” Stauber said. “Securing the money to help replace this bridge has been a top priority for both states, and I am proud to have worked with my Minnesota and Wisconsin Congressional colleagues to secure this critical investment. I look forward to seeing this project benefit countless industries, employers, health care patients, commuters and tourists for years to come.”

Federal funding for the bridge and similar projects across the country came from the Bipartisan Infrastructre Law, a piece of legislation that Stauber and 200 Congressional Republicans voted against in 2021. After voting against the bill, Stauber released a statement condemning the same funding he praised on Monday.

“I will not be complicit in paving a destructive and irreversible path towards socialism,” Stauber said at the time. “This massive package is not about real infrastructure, and instead will make businesses less competitive, outsource jobs, saddle American families and future generation with more debt and higher taxes, send inflation soaring to greater heights and complete devastate our economy.”

Stauber was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 after a 22-year career as a police officer in Duluth. Former President Donald Trump campaigned for Stauber, who later returned the favor when he was one of 126 House Republicans to sign an amicus brief contending the legitimate 2020 presidential election results.