If March 2020 lasted for 396 days, then “Infrastructure Week” has lasted since the dawn of time.
Former President Donald Trump’s myriad trillion-dollar infrastructure plans began and ended in fits and starts for the nearly entirety of his presidency, usually ending when the president lost interest or got sidetracked by the latest scandal. The idea of “Infrastructure Week” eventually devolved into a running joke, a metonym for the administration’s chaotic mishandling of nearly every aspect of traditional governance.
With the introduction of a $2 trillion bill this week, however, President Joe Biden is hoping to finally change that.
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“It’s a once-in-a generation investment in America, unlike anything we’ve seen or done since we built the Interstate Highway System and the Space Race decades ago,” Biden said in remarks introducing the plan on Wednesday evening, calling the legislation “the largest American jobs investment since World War Two.”
But now that “Infrastructure Week” has finally come—like, for real—Republicans who spent years cheering on Trump’s ersatz infrastructure plans are no longer on board.
“This proposal appears to use ‘infrastructure’ as a Trojan horse for the largest set of tax hikes in a generation,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in a statement on Wednesday, calling the plan a “smokescreen” for the liberal agenda.
Other Republicans have lambasted the plan for investing in replacing lead-lined pipes for drinking water and constructing half a million homes in low- and middle-income communities, which they apparently don’t view as infrastructure.
“I was on a call with the White House today with all of the governors talking about the specifics of this package and I was shocked by how much doesn’t go into infrastructure,” South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican and possible 2024 presidential candidate, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday. “It goes into research and development. It goes into housing and pipes and different initiatives—green energy.”
It’s a swift change in tone from the past four years, when Republicans were adamant that Trump’s own plan would rebuild the American economy, in addition to ailing bridges, ports and digital infrastructure.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), who sits on the Senate Finance Committee and who in 2018 called one of Trump’s numerous infrastructure proposals “a good starting point for discussion” in “rebuilding our aging infrastructure,” called Biden’s plan the “wrong approach” on Wednesday, citing its ten-figure price tag and increase on the corporate tax rate.
Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), the ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, called the bill a “sugar high,” despite calling Trump’s own trillion-dollar infrastructure plan in 2019 critical to “stronger growth,” and “a priority that President Trump and lawmakers on both side of the aisle share.”
Trump himself has gotten in on the anti-infrastructure dogpile, accusing Biden’s proposal of potentially ranking “among the largest self-inflicted economic wounds in history” in an emailed statement on Wednesday.
“If this monstrosity is allowed to pass, the result will be more Americans out of work, more families shattered, more factories abandoned, more industries wrecked, and more Main Streets boarded up and closed down,” Trump said.
The White House expressed frustration with Republican recalcitrance to support initiatives like increased broadband access that they backed under the previous administration, but indicated that they expect Republicans to be more open to sitting at the negotiating table in the coming weeks.
“Does he disagree that our nation’s infrastructure is outdated and needs repair? Does he disagree that we need to do more to put American workers back to work?” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in response to McConnell’s statement on Thursday. “Does he disagree that one-third of the country who doesn’t have broadband access should have access to broadband? There are a lot of areas where there is agreement.”
This comes after many Senate Republicans recently called the passage of meaningful infrastructure plans critical to reigniting the American economy as the nation looks to recover from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“As America works its way out of this pandemic-driven recession, we need to take every measure to accelerate the implementation of critical infrastructure projects,” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) said following Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg’s confirmation hearing, “especially rural ones, hoping to benefit from such projects.”
Given the legislation’s popularity, however, Republicans may end up supporting aspects of the legislation, if the Johnny-come-lately Republican support for funds in the recently passed American Rescue Plan are any indication.
“Independent restaurant operators have won $28.6 billion worth of targeted relief,” said Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), who voted against that targeted relief before claiming credit for it in a tweet last month. “This funding will ensure small businesses can survive the pandemic by helping to adapt their operations and keep their employees on the payroll.”
“Proud to see tax-payer dollars returned to NC-11,” freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) wrote on Twitter on Tuesday, referring to funds which he voted against.
