Mitch McConnell for the first time appears to accept Biden's election victory over Trump

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday for the first time appeared to accept President-elect Joe Biden's win over President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
• "I think we all know that after the first of the year, there's likely to be a discussion about some additional package of some size next year, depending upon what the new administration wants to pursue," McConnell said.
• McConnell had previously held off on acknowledging Biden's win, instead saying that Trump has a right to pursue legal challenges.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday for the first time referenced President-elect Joe Biden's victory over President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. 

The Kentucky Republican, who has worked closely with the Trump White House to install legions of conservative judges to the federal bench, spoke of a "new administration" when discussing future COVID-19 economic stimulus negotiations.

McConnell's statement was the closest that he has come to acknowledging Trump's loss.

"I think we all know that after the first of the year, there's likely to be a discussion about some additional package of some size next year, depending upon what the new administration wants to pursue," he said.

—The Recount (@therecount) December 1, 2020

On November 9, even after Biden was declared the president-elect by nearly every major news organization, McConnell supported Trump's legal challenges efforts against the election results and declined to recognize the president-elect as the winner.

"Obviously, no states have yet certified their election results," McConnell said at the time. "We have at least one or two states that are already on track for a recount and I believe the president may have legal challenges underway in at least five states."

Georgia has since completed its statewide audit and Wisconsin underwent a partial recount, with both outcomes confirming Biden's win.

While McConnell had a tumultuous relationship with former President Barack Obama, he has a long history of working with Biden.

Biden served as a Senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009 and McConnell has served in the Senate since 1985. Their tenures overlapped during a time when the Senate had a more clubby atmosphere and was strikingly less partisan than today.

However, the pair's relationship will be tested by a closely-divided Senate and control of the chamber up for grabs pending two Senate runoffs in Georgia that will occur in January 2021.