( CNN ) Yesterday , members of the 114th Congress took the oath of office and ushered in a new Republican majority . It 's a fresh beginning for our country , and I 'm optimistic . A lot can be achieved if President Obama and his party work with us to advance common-sense jobs ideas for the middle class . In the Senate , we welcome many new senators determined to achieve serious results . These men and women share my party 's resolve to end Washington 's dysfunction and get things done for the middle class again . The truth is , the American people no longer trust Washington to do the right thing . For many , it 's never seemed harder just to get by . Many faced the reality of losing their health plan after being told they could keep it . Many continue to struggle with rising medical costs that the president and his allies in Congress repeatedly told us would fall . Confidence in the American Dream wanes at home , while the world seems filled with chaos overseas . Americans are rightly concerned . And yet , for years Washington has seemed uninterested or incapable of addressing their concerns ; for years , Washington seemed to be working for itself instead of for them . That changes today . Because the message voters sent in November was clear . They want the administration to change course and move to the middle , and they want dysfunction in the Senate to come to an end . The American people did n't ask for a government that tries to do everything and they did n't ask for a government that aims to do nothing . They want a government that works again . They want us to focus on more jobs , more opportunity , and more flexibility for a middle class that feels squeezed . Jobs ideas with strong bipartisan support -- like simplifying our broken tax system , opening more markets to American-made products , and approving bipartisan infrastructure projects like the Keystone Pipeline -- provide a strong foundation for success . We plan to work to send that kind of common-sense legislation to the president for his signature . But to ensure the best outcome , two things will be needed . First , we need a Congress that functions again . Having an effective Congress will help us move beyond an age of government by crisis . But it 's going to take significant changes to the way the Senate 's been operating . The era we 've just been through -- with bipartisan jobs bills sent over from the House routinely killed , and senators ' serious jobs ideas regularly silenced — has to change . Second , both parties need to make divided government work . This is where President Obama really comes in . His recent actions , including threatening to veto a bipartisan jobs project like the Keystone XL pipeline within minutes of the new Congress being sworn in , have been anything but productive . The President himself has noted that the American people are counting on him to work with the Congress they elected to get things accomplished . Now it 's time to show he meant it I hope he will . As we 've seen in the past , divided government is n't a reason to do nothing ; it 's often been a spur to achieve big things . Reagan worked with Democratic leaders to pass bold reforms to taxes and Social Security . A Republican Congress worked with Clinton to pass groundbreaking welfare reform . And if President Obama is interested in historic achievement , this can be his time , too . But bipartisan progress can only be achieved if President Obama is interested in it . He 's the only one who can bring his party on board or sign what Congress passes . It wo n't be easy for him . The president 's supporters are pressing for militancy , not compromise . But they need to understand that democracy is n't about what you can get away with , it 's about what you can achieve together . Whatever the president decides , this Congress is going to function again . It 's going to legislate again for the people we were sent here to serve . Some of the things we pass may seem significant ; some may seem more modest . That 's okay . And while we 're always going to be looking for areas where we can agree , it 's also okay if the president does n't love every bill Congress passes . Few presidents do . The point is , our job is not to protect the President from good ideas . Our job is to get the Senate back to work . Our job is to focus on serious ideas designed to boost the middle class and help restore our nation 's promise for future generations . And that 's just what we plan to do .
Mitch McConnell : « Nous ne sommes pas en train de nous battre pour le pouvoir ou la représentation des États-Unis. » He says divided government can still yield historic achievement .