White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday that he was encouraged that Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer is willing to to work on an infrastructure program with President Trump after rejecting every other olive branch extended to Democrats.
Mr. Schumer earlier in the day balked at Mr. Trump’s offers during an address to a joint session of Congress to work on bipartisan goals. The New York Democrats said he just didn’t trust the president.
“How he talks and how he walks are totally different,” he said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program, one of several TV appearance he made.
Mr. Schumer expressed a willingness to work on infrastructure spending but blamed Mr. Trump for not more quickly taking up a Democratic plan to spend $1 trillion to build and repair roads, bridges, railways and airports.
Mr. Trump has said he wants to use public-private partnerships to help finance an infrastructure program.
“I’m glad [Mr. Schumer] found one area where he’s willing to work with the president on,” Mr. Spicer told reporters at the White House. “I know that multiple times this morning he was offered an opportunity on various shows to talk about things that he though they could work on with the president,”
“It is somewhat disappointing that when you look at all the things the president said that offered an olive branch to both parties and seemingly should unify the country on issues and on goals that it is nice to finally hear that we’ve found a one,” he said. “I think there are lots of areas in that speech last night that transcended party lines and ideology and that united us all as Americans.”
In the speech Tuesday night, Mr. Trump urged lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to work together on big goals that included fixing the health care system, retooling the tax code and agreeing on comprehensive immigration reform.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.