Trump, playing up his background in construction, had made fixing US infrastructure a core campaign pledge and already announced the $1.5 trillion plan in his State of the Union address last month. “Infrastructure is obviously a critical component to the functioning of our economy, a lot of American success is a result of the quality of the infrastructure we have had historically,” said a senior White House official. The Trump administration has questioned global warming and the president has called it a hoax. The Trump administration says the funding will come from cuts in other programs, which will be outlined in his budget proposal. White House officials acknowledge the plan is just the opening salvo in the back-and-forth with Congress.

Source: Punch February 11, 2018 22:07 UTC