Long ago, when my blogging hands weren’t so frail, President Donald Trump revealed a vague outline for a $200 billion privatization-centric infrastructure program. Trump even dedicated an Infrastructure Week to highlight his supreme dedication to the infrastructure. But still, a year later, we have nothing beyond that same, super vague game plan. That could change soon! Maybe!
Throughout 2017, the White House repeatedly said a more complete plan would be released, but to date nothing specific has been revealed, turning Trump’s triumphant Infrastructure Week into a never-ending joke on Twitter.
But now, we’re told, a plan could be released in as little as two weeks. That’s according to Politico, which cites anonymous people who surely trust that a robust infrastructure agenda is forthcoming.
A top White House official told conservative groups that President Donald Trump’s long-delayed infrastructure plan could — finally — be unveiled in as little as two weeks, according to people briefed on the meeting.
Top aide Paul Teller was asked about a leaked infrastructure plan at the Tuesday meeting, a regular Capitol Hill gathering of top minds on the right, those people said. Teller said the document was not reflective of the administration’s ultimate proposal to fix the country’s crumbling roads and bridges.
I’d like to tell you that I know what to expect from the forthcoming plan, but if Politico’s latest is true, the leaked document from this week is—according to one White House aide—“not reflective of the administration’s ultimate proposal to fix the country’s crumbling roads and bridges.”
The “leak” is six pages long. It does not detail the cost of the plan itself.
More details could come by way of Trump’s State of the Union Address next week, Politico says, with a “concrete document” delivered to lawmakers to follow in two to four weeks.
Just to emphasize how certain this is going to happen, here’s a quick rundown of every time last year we heard an infrastructure plan was coming:
Jan. 13, 2017:
Feb. 23, 2017:
March 30, 2017:
May 1, 2017:
May 15, 2017:
May 30, 2017:
June 5, 2017:
June 9, 2017:
July 24, 2017:
July 31, 2017:
Aug. 15, 2017:
Aug. 22, 2017:
Sept. 27, 2017:
Sept. 30, 2017:
Oct. 9, 2017:
Oct. 11, 2017:
Oct. 18, 2017:
Nov. 20, 2017:
Dec. 7, 2017:
Dec. 14, 2017:
Jan. 9, 2018:
Jan. 22, 2018:
Jan. 24, 2018:
It’s worth paying attention to when it eventually, one day, comes: previous iterations of the general, very rough outline of Trump’s plan released last year called for the federal government to spend $200 billion to upgrade roads, airports, bridges and more—and then provide tax breaks and other incentives for private investors to put an additional $800 billion into projects.
There’s a number of problems with this model of investment for infrastructure, but save that for another day, for instance, when this final plan is actually released.
For now, though, infrastructure week’s back, baby!!!! Get excited.