House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she will seek a deal with President Trump to pass legislation that includes at least $1 trillion, but up to $2 trillion, for the nation’s infrastructure projects.
“I think we can work together,” Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday at an annual planning retreat with her caucus in suburban Washington, D.C. “I’m optimistic. Left to his own devices, I think the president would be agreeable to these things.”
Pelosi announced she will “meet soon” with the president “to talk about what the number will be.”
Pelosi told reporters, who asked her about a price tag for the massive undertaking, that “It has to be $1 trillion, I’d like it to be closer to $2 trillion.”
Pelosi said she believes Trump “appreciates” the chance to undertake a massive project to update roads and bridges in a way that acknowledges green technology and changing transportation modes, such as the introduction of self-driving cars. Public housing improvements should also be part of the spending program, Pelosi said.
[Related: Trump says infrastructure ‘easiest’ of his priorities to get through Congress]
“Even if it isn’t 100% there is plenty of area of common ground to move forward,” Pelosi said. “I think the president wants to do that, and I think the president needs to do that.”
Democrats rejected Trump’s pitch earlier in his presidency to provide $200 million in federal spending to help spur infrastructure investments across the country.
Democrats want far more federal spending and believe Trump’s earlier plan leaves local governments stuck with much of the cost for fixing roads, bridges, water systems, and other critical infrastructure projects.
“That’s a formula that … does nothing,” Pelosi said. “I think he probably knew that was not a successful path to building infrastructure from sea to shining sea. I think he knows this. But who knows what he knows.”
