President Trump will reach out to Democrats in his first State of the Union address Tuesday, expressing his willingness to reach bipartisan deals on immigration and infrastructure, according to reports.
“I think Donald Trump is going to offer the Democrats certain deals,” Bill McGurn, a former speechwriter to George W. Bush, said on “Fox and Friends.” “They may not like the terms [on] immigration, infrastructure and so forth. One of the questions will be: can they take yes for an answer?”
In the speech, Trump is expected to address his plans for rebuilding the nation’s crumbling bridges, roads and airports, long viewed by Republicans and Democrats as a potential area of bipartisan support. DJ Gribbin, Trump’s infrastructure adviser, said last week that the administration plans to send its proposal to Congress in the coming weeks.
The White House plan would rely on leveraging at least $200 billion in federal money over 10 years to get states, localities and the private sector to pour at least $800 billion into infrastructure projects. Administration officials have said the largest share of funding would be cash grants, with preference given to places that use taxes, tolls or other revenue to reduce reliance on federal funding. (BloombergPolitics)
As for immigration, he will likely address the framework his administration released last week that includes a path to citizenship for Dreamers in exchange for border wall funding.
"I have offered DACA a wonderful deal, including a doubling in the number of recipients & a twelve year pathway to citizenship, for two reasons: (1) Because the Republicans want to fix a long time terrible problem. (2) To show that Democrats do not want to solve DACA, only use it!" Trump tweeted over the weekend about the plan.
The president will also spend time discussing the revitalization of the U.S. economy after tax reform and his administration’s efforts to roll back regulations.
“He will talk about the fact that America is open for business and the president will also make an appeal to Democrats to say we need to rebuild our country and make an appeal that you do infrastructure,” White House legislative director Marc Short said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We need to do it in a bipartisan way.”
Additionally, the president told reporters Monday that he will call for better trade deals.
“We have to have reciprocal trade,” Trump said “It’s not a one-way deal anymore.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday the 9 p.m. speech will be “must-watch TV” and focus on “building a safe, strong, and proud America.”
“Look, we have an economy that's booming. ISIS is on the run. We’re remaking the judiciary in a way that actually believes in upholding the Constitution,” she said. “There are some great things happening in this country.”