Trump wants $1.5tn on US infrastructure

US president Donald Trump has launched a “big week” for his long-awaited infrastructure plan, which envisions boosting spending by $1.5 trillion (£1.08 trillion) over a decade to rebuild roads, ports and airports.

The plan would fulfil some of Mr Trump’s campaign goals, but would rely heavily on state and local government for much of the funding.

He said on Twitter that it would be “a big week for infrastructure. After so stupidly spending seven trillion dollars in the Middle East, it is now time to start investing in OUR country!” He is due to meet state and local officials at the White House later in the day to drum up support.

The administration’s plan is centred on using $200 billion (£144bn) in federal money to leverage local and state tax dollars to fix US infrastructure.

Mr Trump has repeatquestions edly blamed the “crumbling” state of the nation’s roads and highways for preventing the American economy from reaching its full potential.

Many in Washington believe that Mr Trump should have begun his term a year ago with an infrastructure push, one that could have garnered bipartisan support or, at minimum, placed Democrats in a bind for opposing a popular political measure.

But the administration chose to begin with healthcare, and relations with Democrats have only grown more strained during a turbulent, contentious year. The administration pushed two previous “infrastructure weeks” in June and August, which were sidetracked by other events.

The massive infrastructure plan’s path through a polarised US congress is not clear. Congress has just dealt with two Federal government shutdowns and is turning its attention to immigration.