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Trump infrastructure policy adviser to leave White House

Trump infrastructure policy adviser to leave White House

DJ Gribbin, President Trump's infrastructure policy adviser, is departing the White House as the administration's rebuilding plan appears to have hit a wall in Congress. Gribbin, who led the Trump administration's push for an infrastructure proposal that was released in February, is "moving on to new opportunities," according to a White House official. “Since he joined the team early last year, DJ has played an important part in coordinating the Administration-wide process be

What Trump’s Infrastructure Proposal Could Mean for Public Transportation

What Trump’s Infrastructure Proposal Could Mean for Public Transportation

On Monday, February 12, the Trump administration released its long awaited infrastructure proposal. The document, a list of “legislative principles,” provides a blueprint for the administration’s plans to spur as much as $1.5 trillion in new investments in our nation’s failing transportation infrastructure. The proposal also includes support for water resources development and land revitalization. The proposal was immediately met with skepticism and criticism from lawmakers a

Trump infrastructure plan comes up $1 trillion short of its funding goal, analysis finds

Trump infrastructure plan comes up $1 trillion short of its funding goal, analysis finds

The Trump administration's plan to pay for rebuilding America's aging infrastructure comes up short by more than $1 trillion, according to a new analysis. The administration proposes having the federal government put up about $200 billion over the next 10 years in grants and other incentives to attract at total of some $1.5 trillion. Each new dollar of federal spending could actually reduce spending by state and local governments, according to analysts at the University of Pe

Trump predicts swift emergency funding for Texas

President Trump predicted Monday that Texas will receive swift emergency funding from Congress to help with Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. “I think you’re going to see very rapid action from Congress, certainly from the president,” Trump told reporters at a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö. “You’re going to get your funding. It’s a terrible tragedy.” Trump added that he expects to see an emergency spending request on his desk “fairly soon,” and b

Presidential Executive Order on Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Revi

EXECUTIVE ORDER - - - - - - - ESTABLISHING DISCIPLINE AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING PROCESS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to ensure that the Federal environmental review and permitting process for infrastructure projects is coordinated, predictable, and transparent, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Purpose. Americ

What Infrastructure Needs: Smart Permitting

The Trump administration has begun to lay out its infrastructure rebuilding strategy, and it is increasingly clear that a cornerstone involves private-sector funding through public-private partnerships (P3s). The administration knows that the only way to succeed is by overcoming private-sector concerns about federal permitting delays. That’s why the president and senior officials have gone out of their way to stress that this administration’s permit approvals will come faster

Texas Republicans take aim at liberal cities

Texas Republicans take aim at liberal cities

AUSTIN — The sunset red granite of the Texas state capitol stands at 302 feet. It towers over nearby Travis County and Austin municipal buildings, as if to convey a physical superiority over those lesser government bodies. When legislators return for a special session this week, they will advance a series of laws that would make that state supremacy more concrete. Republicans who run Texas are increasingly targeting laws passed by cities and counties with so-called preemption

Trump announces push to speed up 'desperately-needed infrastructure'

President Donald Trump on Friday pledged new efforts to speed approvals for highways and other projects as part of his proposal for a $1 trillion boost to fix aging U.S. infrastructure. At the U.S. Transportation Department, Trump said his goal was to solve "one of the biggest obstacles to creating this new and desperately-needed infrastructure – and that is the painfully slow, costly and time-consuming process for getting permits and approvals to build." Trump said the White

Chao: Infrastructure Plan ‘Principles’ Coming This Month

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said the Trump administration will release "principles" of its infrastructure investment plan late this month, and that the White House Office of Management and Budget is looking for spending offsets to help make up for $200 million of direct federal funding in the plan. Chao made the remarks over several days in a television interview, a speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and in a hearing before the Senate Environment and Public

White House tells Congress it will renegotiate NAFTA

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer notified Congress on Thursday that President Trump intends to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Lighthizer said the United States will rework the 23-year-old trade agreement to support higher-paying jobs here and grow the U.S. economy by improving trading opportunities with Canada and Mexico. “USTR will now continue consultations with Congress and American stakeholders to create an agreement that advances

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