President Trump and lawmakers are taking steps to work together on bipartisan legislative priorities, including a massive infrastructure bill, despite extreme conflict between Trump and Democrats over wide-ranging congressional investigations into his life and presidency.
Trump will meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Tuesday to discuss prospects for a massive infrastructure bill.
“They wouldn’t have that meeting if they didn’t want to work together on stuff,” said Ed Mortimer, vice president of transportation and infrastructure at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “It shows a willingness to talk about an issue.”
The relationship between Trump and Democrats has rapidly deteriorated in recent weeks, from what was already a low point, with the White House rebuffing attempts by various committees to obtain tax returns, documents, and testimony from former White House officials.
Trump and his businesses have also sued House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., to block a subpoena for financial records, and the White House has said it may assert executive privilege to squash a subpoena of former White House counsel Don McGahn.
“We’re fighting all the subpoenas,” Trump said Wednesday.
But both Democrats and Trump will have to answer to voters if no significant legislation passes during the current two-year congressional term while partisan spats rage.
Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill told the Washington Examiner that Democrats are “determined to make progress” by addressing infrastructure and lowering healthcare costs.
“We believe we can find common ground where possible and stand our ground where we cannot,” he said.
Infrastructure spending, which benefits every constituent who uses a road or crosses a bridge, is viewed by many as one of the only areas where Trump and Congress can potentially cooperate. Trump has said it would be the “easiest” of his priorities to move through Congress. Greg Cohen, president of the American Highway Users Alliance, said infrastructure seems to be the only thing Trump and Congress could “possibly” do together — though he was still skeptical because of funding disagreements.
Republicans and Democrats have so far been unable to decide on how to pay for an infrastructure bill, with some advocating an increase in the federal gas tax and others suggesting a tax on vehicle miles traveled, among other options.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., is “hopeful” that Trump and Republicans can address infrastructure and prescription drug costs, but he warned: “At the same time, Congress has a responsibility to conduct oversight and hold the Trump Administration accountable for its actions, and we will carry out that work.”
The White House also warned Democrats to make a decision on whether to talk about legislation or the investigations.
“Democrats need to decide if they want to continue their obsession with obstructing this president, or will they work with him to address the real issues impacting everyday Americans,” White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere told the Examiner.
Republicans in Congress were less confident about cooperation between Democrats and Trump. A GOP leadership aide said Democrats’ “only priority is to engage in presidential harassment of President Trump” so they can lay the groundwork for impeachment.
“It’s obvious that they have no intention of working with the White House to actually achieve the bipartisan policy initiatives they ran on,” the aide said.
Another senior Republican aide said there was willingness among both Democrats and Trump to work together on infrastructure, but that the investigations would consume more time if the president continued not to cooperate, exacerbating an already complex logistical process.
Members of Congress have said an infrastructure bill would have to get done by August, before Congress takes its summer recess and the 2020 presidential campaign season swings into full gear.
D.J. Gribbin, former special assistant to the president on infrastructure, said it would be a “long shot” to get infrastructure done this year, but added that “it’s not as bleak as it may look” from the outside. He expressed confidence in the president’s ability to negotiate.
“Clearly, the fact that there is tension between the legislative and executive branches makes it harder to reach a deal, but at heart, the president is a deal maker, so there’s a reason for some optimism, even in an environment rife with conflict,” Gribbin told the Examiner.
Mortimer said the Chamber of Commerce would be keeping score.
“It doesn’t matter what the blood is. We elect members of Congress to serve the American people,” he said. “We’re certainly going to hold them accountable for what they do or don’t do.”
