President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview with The New York Times that infrastructure will not be a “core” part of his agenda during the first few years of his administration.
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The real estate mogul said his $1 trillion infrastructure proposal is “not the core, but it’s an important factor.”
“We’re going for a lot of things, between taxes, between regulations, between health care replacement, we’re going to talk repeal and replace,” Trump said, according to a transcript. “So there are a lot of things. But infrastructure … is going to be a part of it.”
When pressed by the Times on whether his infrastructure proposal was a part of his job-creation plan, Trump said, “I don’t even think it’s a big part of it.”
“It’s going to be a big number but I think I am doing things that are more important than infrastructure, but infrastructure is still a part of it, and we’re talking about a very large-scale infrastructure bill,” he said.
Trump has long talked about the need to repair the nation’s crumbling roads and airports, even giving the issue a shout-out in his acceptance speech. He vowed to offer a major infrastructure proposal within his first 100 days in office.
Trump has floated a $1 trillion package that would offer tax credits to private investors who want to back transportation projects, which he says would spur investment, create jobs and boost the economy.
“And that’s not a very Republican thing — I didn’t even know that, frankly,” he said.
Trump has been facing pressure to address other GOP priorities over infrastructure.
Republican leadership has been reluctant to back a massive spending package on infrastructure, with conservatives warning Trump to avoid anything that adds to the deficit or looks like an economic stimulus plan.
But Trump emphasized that President Obama’s 2009 economic stimulus plan failed because “they didn’t spend the money last time on infrastructure.”
“We’re going to make sure it is spent on infrastructure and roads and highways,” he said.