WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is launching a major push for a $1 trillion overhaul of the nation’s roads and bridges, a key item on his agenda that’s been stymied in Congress and overshadowed by White House controversies.
Trump plans a series of events this coming week to highlight his effort to modernize American infrastructure — the highway, waterway, electrical and airway systems on which the nation operates. His campaign for public and private funding for the projects is expected to run from the White House, where he’ll speak about upgrading air traffic control, to Ohio on inland waterways and through meetings with mayors, governors and Transportation Department officials.
The Trump administration has struggled to gain traction on many of its economic policies. Job growth has slowed in recent months instead of accelerating as the president predicted. Trump has said he has tax legislation moving through Congress but his effort has been stalled and no bill has been written. His budget plan released during his foreign trip included math errors that enabled the White House to falsely claim that its tax plan would deliver both faster growth and a balanced budget.
Trump’s agenda has been overshadowed by ongoing probes into whether Trump campaign officials or associates colluded with Russian officials to influence the 2016 election, as well as scrutiny over Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey — who is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
And other policies on the agenda, such as health care and taxes, come first on a fast-closing legislative calendar.
But modernizing the nation’s infrastructure remains a challenge with broad public support.
Full story: AP News