President Trump met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other senior Democrats to talk about rebuilding America’s roads, bridges and other crumbling infrastructure, an area where partisan interests could align.
There were no TV cameras this time, no accusations of bad faith, or anyone tossing binders or storming out.
Instead, unlike their December and January clashes in the Oval Office, President Trump met Tuesday for 90 minutes with the Democratic leaders he’s dubbed “Chuck and Nancy” in what both sides called a productive discussion about a comprehensive infrastructure package.
When it ended, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer expressed optimism, not frustration, with the president and announced that participants had agreed to seek a $2-trillion legislative package to repair and improve the nation’s roads, bridges and broadband networks.
“We came to this meeting with an understanding that there’s a great need in our country for rebuilding our infrastructure,” said Pelosi, the San Francisco Democrat. “We’re very excited about the conversation we had with the president.”
The White House also seemed pleased, although it did not publicly confirm the $2-trillion price tag. In a statement, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had “an excellent and productive meeting” with the Democrats.
“The United States has not come even close to properly investing in infrastructure for many years, foolishly prioritizing the interests of other countries over our own,” she said. “We have to invest in this country’s future and bring our infrastructure to a level better than it has ever been before. We will have another meeting in three weeks to discuss specific proposals and financing methods.”
The sticky part is figuring out whether the $2 trillion would come from new taxes or other means. Republicans, who control the Senate, generally oppose increasing the gas tax to pay for infrastructure, although Trump may be open to it.
