Outgoing Rep. Cunningham opens beer on House floor in goodbye toast to bipartisanship

Outgoing South Carolina Rep. Joe Cunningham (D) cracked open a beer in the name of bipartisanship during his farewell speech to Congress on Thursday.

“For the betterment of this country, we have to come together, we have to sit down and listen to one another, and maybe even have a beer,” Cunningham said before grabbing a brew out of an inside pocket of his jacket and snapping it open.

“I raise this glass to my colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans,” he said as he held up what The Post and Courier identified as a can of DC Brau pale ale called Joint Resolution.

Cunningham did not take a sip of the beer, and was wearing a mask while delivering his toast, per House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) new order for members in the chamber.

The South Carolina Democrat noted his ranking as the fourth most bipartisan congressman and that President Trump signed two of his bills into law.

I just gave my farewell remarks to Congress on the House Floor.

It’s been the honor of a lifetime. Thank you for giving me the chance.https://t.co/CYXYaWr5Tt

— Rep. Joe Cunningham (@RepCunningham) Decembepr 17, 2020

“Our democracy has been battered and bruised, but it is not yet broken,” he said on the floor. “To save it we must agree on one basic truth: The other side is not the enemy.”

Cunningham was one of several House Democrats who lost their congressional race this year when he was beat by South Carolina state Rep. Nancy Mace (R). Cunningham was the first Democrat to win the seat since 1981 when he was elected in 2018.