Infrastructure plan falls by the wayside

WASHINGTON — As a candidate, President Donald Trump billed himself as a new breed of thinkbig Republican, pitching a $1 trillion campaign pledge to reconstruct the nation’s roadways, waterworks and bridges — along with a promise to revive the lost art of the bipartisan deal.

In the White House, Trump has continued to dangle the possibility of “a great national infrastructure program” that would create “millions” of new jobs as part of a public-private partnership to rival the public works achievements of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

But an ambitious public works plan is fast becoming an afterthought — at precisely the moment Trump needs a big, unifying issue to rewrite the narrative of his chaotic administration.

Infrastructure remains stuck near the rear of the legislative line, according to two dozen administration officials, legislators and labor leaders involved in coming up with a concrete proposal. It awaits the resolution of tough negotiations over the budget, the debt ceiling, tax reform, a new push to toughen immigration laws — and the enervating slog to enact a replacement for the Affordable Care Act.

Trump’s team has yet to produce the detailed plan he has promised to deliver “very soon,” and the president has yet to even name any members to a new board he claimed would green-light big projects.

The collapse of his health care overhaul effort seemed to clear one item out of the way. But it also raised serious doubts about the ability of Republicans to pass anything other than regulatory rollbacks or routine spending bills.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who is leading infrastructure efforts in the Senate, said consideration of a proposal could slip into 2018.