Trump: Dems blocking infrastructure to prevent me from having a win

President Trump on Wednesday accused Democrats of blocking his administration’s infrastructure plan, arguing the lawmakers just don’t want to give him a win.

“The Democrats don’t want to approve it because they don’t want to give us a victory,” Trump said during a speech to the Latino Coalition Legislative Summit. “They think we’ve had too many victories. We’ve had a lot of victories.”

Trump last month unveiled his long-awaited infrastructure proposal in a framework that called for $200 billion of federal seed money to stimulate $1.5 trillion in investments.

The plan would focus on the use of public-private partnerships and funding from state and local governments as the administration works to finance projects where local governments have a stake.

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Democrats have slammed the proposal, arguing it does not include a large enough federal investment to have a meaningful impact on rebuilding. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats on Wednesday put forward their own rebuilding plan, which would roll back some of the recently passed GOP tax cuts to fund an infrastructure overhaul.

But the administration’s proposal is meant to serve as a blueprint for Congress, where multiple committees will work on legislation.

During his Wednesday speech, Trump also joked with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao about administration nominations held up in Congress. 

“Elaine, we have so many people, is that correct?” Trump asked the secretary.

But the president argued that the Transportation Department receives “pretty good treatment” when it comes to nominations.

Trump also emphasized the need to streamline the permitting process in his Wednesday speech, a key component of his infrastructure plan. But that portion of the plan has received criticism from environmental groups, who argue an altered permitting process will hurt environmental protections.

“And if it’s not done properly and environmentally good, we’re not going to approve it,” Trump told the summit.