5/2/2019

DEMS/GOP/INFRASTRUCTURE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Every few months, President Donald Trump gets in the negotiating room with Democrats and everyone leaves happy — except for the president’s own party. This week’s huddle on a $2 trillion infrastructure bill was no different, as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer walked away from the White House with an agreement in principle and a promise to meet again. But Republicans were pushing back on the handshake deal before some Democrats even made it back to the Capitol…It’s a familiar pattern for the president, a one-time Democrat who has gone out on a limb on everything from immigration reform to gun control, only to be snapped back by the GOP. And Tuesday’s [4-30-19] 90-minute meeting on infrastructure, which came against the backdrop of an increasingly combative relationship between Congress and the White House, followed a similar path. Trump, who Democrats say riffed on a variety of topics and appeared eager to play the deal-maker, settled on $2 trillion for infrastructure — an eye-popping figure that was more than what Democrats even asked for.”

Melania Zanna and Burgess Everett, “Trump’s deal with Democrats leaves GOP rolling its eyes,” Politico, May 2, 2019 5:01 am