Trump is reportedly considering a new $1 trillion infrastructure plan to try to boost the US economy
- US President Donald Trump is considering launching a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, according to Bloomberg.
- Anonymous sources told the publication that most of the funds would go toward roads and bridges, with the rest devoted to improving 5G and rural broadband.
- Trump has pushed for large infrastructure spending throughout his presidency but has been unable to get a deal over the line.
- Funding has been a major sticking point for previous infrastructure proposals, with Republicans and Democrats disagreeing on how to pay for the plans.
- Trump is due to discuss rural broadband at a White House event on Thursday.
President Donald Trump is considering a $1 trillion infrastructure plan to try to help revive the US economy from the fallout of the novel coronavirus and push ahead with his long-standing goal of spending big on infrastructure, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, said a preliminary version was being prepared by the Department of Transportation.
Under the plan, most of the money would be earmarked for infrastructure work in roads and bridges, with the rest devoted to building out 5G networks and improving internet services in rural parts of the country, the sources said.
As Bloomberg noted, Trump is due to discuss rural broadband at a White House event Thursday.
The president has flirted with major infrastructure spending throughout his presidency, last year agreeing in principal a $2 trillion plan with the Democratic Party. It never got off the ground, however.
In January, the Democrat-led House proposed a $760 billion plan to renew infrastructure spending over the next five years.
It remains unknown how the Trump administration would fund the program, with funding being a major sticking point for previous infrastructure proposals launched by Trump.
The president favors paying for the plans with minimal government money and involving the private sector, while Democratic rivals propose majority government funding.
"Since he took office, President Trump has been serious about a bipartisan infrastructure package that rebuilds our crumbling roads and bridges, invests in future industries, and promotes permitting efficiency," a White House spokesman, Judd Deere, said in a statement to Bloomberg, which added that the White House declined to comment on any specific plans.
Trump has been calling for an infrastructure plan worth as much as $2 trillion to take advantage of low interest rates, which would allow the US government to borrow at minimal costs. The latest indication he is moving forward with a plan comes with him seeking reelection this November.
"With interest rates for the United States being at ZERO, this is the time to do our decades long awaited Infrastructure Bill," Trump said on Twitter in March.
The Trump administration moved in 2017 to disband a planned infrastructure council that was set to include leaders from the transportation, construction, and labor industries, Politico reported at the time.
Democrats and Republicans agreed last year to craft a $2 trillion infrastructure package that would, among other things, seek to fix roads and expand rural communities' broadband access.
But Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer said at the time that the two sides did not flesh out how the package would be paid for.
Naeem Aslam, the chief market analyst at AvaTrade, said that Trump had "always wanted to improve the infrastructure of the US" and that it was a particularly opportune time with the economy "on its knees, unemployment in through the roof, and more importantly, US elections are just around the corner."
"Trump administration's move to prepare the $1 trillion infrastructure proposal is likely to pass all the hurdles and if it becomes the reality, it could really change the course the economy and Trump's chances of becoming the president again," he added.