Democratic leaders announced on Tuesday a $2 trillion plan to tackle U.S. infrastructure after they held a meeting with President Donald Trump, which they deemed “constructive.” The announcement came as a bit of a surprise considering previous showdowns between the President and congressional Democrats.
The plan was announced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who on Tuesday told reporters outside the West Wing that they had a “very productive” meeting with President Trump. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders echoed that statement shortly after.
“We have to invest in this country’s future and bring our infrastructure to a level better than it has ever been before,” Sanders said, according to ABC News.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also stressed that “goodwill” was demonstrated during the meeting and noted that the plan was not short-term, but would rather have an impact for over two decades.
Schumer explained that they discussed improving roads, bridges, highways, and water systems as well as the power grid so that clean energy could be brought to every part of the country.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will make an announcement concerning how extensive the plan will be, said Pelosi.
The lawmakers will meet with the President again in three weeks to talk about specific proposals and during the discussion, Trump will present his ideas on how to fund the bill.
Current investigations into the President and his businesses were not mentioned during the meeting and Schumer voiced optimism that the probes can move on without affecting bipartisan legislation and discussions with President Trump.
“In previous meetings the president said if the investigations continue, I can’t work with you. He didn’t bring it up,” Schumer said. “I believe, we can do both at once. We can come up with some good ideas on infrastructure and we want to hear his ideas on funding.”
“That’s going to be the crucial point in my opinion. And the House and the Senate can proceed in its oversight responsibilities. The two are not mutually exclusive, and we were glad he didn’t make it that way,” he added.
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