President Trump previewed the massive infrastructure package he hopes to get through Congress this year, telling a group of CEOs at the White House on Tuesday that he wants to see the $1 trillion in proposed funding directed only to construction projects.
“We’re going to be very strong that it has to be spent on shovels and not on other programs,” Trump said at the business town hall, arguing other attempted stimulus packages have been spent on social programs instead.
“If you have a job that you can’t start within 90 days, we’re not going to give you the money for it,” Trump said. “They have to be able to start within 90 days.”
The president touted his administration’s progress toward deregulation, something Trump promised to deliver to companies struggling to operate under the regulatory burderns created during the Obama administration.
“We are absolutely destroying these horrible regulations that have been placed on your heads,” Trump said. He noted his Environmental Protection Agency head, Scott Pruitt, believed in protecting the environment but promised Pruitt would place a premium on reducing regulations that could slow construction progress.
Trump also said his team is formulating a “very major haircut” for Dodd-Frank banking regulations.
