Trump turns to infrastructure to boost credibility
US President Donald Trump, who is suffering poor poll ratings, is turning to his $1 trillion (£774 billion) campaign promise to rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure to restore his credibility. He will travel around the country to turn the focus to rebuilding America and providing jobs.
BATTERED by negative poll ratings and braced this week for fresh revelations from the FBI director he fired, Donald Trump is pivoting to his $1trillion (£774billion) campaign promise to rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure in an effort to restore momentum to his troubled administration.
Starting last night with a shake-up of air traffic control – proposing taking it away from the Federal Aviation Administration – he will hold a series of events with city leaders this week and travel around the country to promote his vision. Aides say it is all part of an effort to turn the focus to rebuilding America and providing millions of jobs.
Robert Shapiro, a political science professor at Columbia University, said: “Republicans are looking for any opportunity they can find to show they can govern properly and that’s what this provisional roll-out is – a move in that direction.”
Prof Shapiro added that upgrading roads, airports and railways would appeal across party lines.
Gary Cohn, Mr Trump’s chief economic adviser, said: “It doesn’t matter who you are – whether you’re a farmer in the Midwest or a mother driving your kids to and from school, or work, or a college kid flying back and forth to school – you’re affected by infrastructure.”
But it comes during a potentially explosive week for Mr Trump. On Thursday, James Comey, the man dismissed as FBI director last month, will testify before a Senate committee.
Washington’s political world will come a halt to see whether Mr Comey accuses Mr Trump of trying to obstruct his investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.
Friends say Mr Comey kept copious notes during his time as FBI director as he laid a paper trail detailing what he saw as the president’s improper efforts to influence investigators.
One memo, obtained by The New York Times, suggested Mr Trump asked him to drop an investigation into Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser.
The prospect of such damaging claims about the conduct of a sitting president has prompted comparisons with the Watergate hearings that brought down Richard Nixon.
Mr Trump’s administration is in desperate need of a policy win.
It has struggled to make progress on much of its agenda, economic or otherwise, at home or abroad.
Tax reform has stalled and White House budget proposals have been criticised for mathematical errors.
Mr Trump’s travel ban remains blocked and a Bill to repeal and replace Obamacare is making slow progress.
The latest Gallup poll suggests just 36 per cent of Americans think the president is doing a good job.
And the ongoing investigation into connections between his campaign team and Russia casts a long shadow over every move.