President Trump will visit Florida later this week to promote infrastructure projects underway near Lake Okeechobee, the White House confirmed Tuesday.
Deputy press secretary Judd Deere tweeted that Trump will make the trip on Friday to “tout work on dike repair” on the lake.
Trump’s visit will focus on expediting the completion of the Herbert Hoover Dike rehabilitation project to improve water management, the White House said.
{mosads}The president will also address efforts to construct a reservoir that would limit harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee into the neighboring St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers.
The toxic algae blooms present in the lake alarmed environmentalists and became a key issue for some Florida voters in last year’s elections.
Lake Okeechobee is roughly 50 miles from West Palm Beach, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is located. The president spent last weekend at the property, and a Federal Aviation Administration advisory suggests that he will do the same this weekend.
The president’s visit will come as his administration seeks to reset its focus following the conclusion of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
White House officials have long cited infrastructure as a potential topic where they could find common ground to work with Democrats. Florida is also a key state in Trump’s reelection efforts in 2020. He visited the state multiple times in 2018 to campaign for Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).