Was there ever any doubt?
From Leigh Ann Caldwell at Puck:
Last weekend, before his inauguration, Trump floated in conversations the notion of redirecting funds from the $370 billion Inflation Reduction Act, the massive infrastructure bill with a hilariously disingenuous name, to projects he wants to underwrite. The idea also came up earlier this week when he met with Republican congressional leaders, according to a person who received a rundown of the meeting. Rep. Sam Graves, the new chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told me that’s not an immediate priority, but will happen “later in the year.”
Graves said it would be part of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill, which funds highways and, well, surface transportation projects, which will begin to come into focus in the second half of the year. Or, Trump could ignore the Impoundment Act, the law that requires the administration to spend money on what Congress legislated, as his allies have suggested for a host of issues.
Someone needs to ask Russ Vought what he plans to do on this. I don’t think it was in any of their plans to be spending money on this stuff. They want to redirect the money to thinks they have to spend in the near term so that the Congress can cut programs. I guess we’ll see which way they go. Trump definitely wants his name all over the place.
Freshman Rep. Addison McDowell (R-N.C.) introduced legislation this week to rename the Dulles International Airport (IAD) near Washington after President Trump.
McDowell, who represents North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District, proposed the bill on Thursday alongside Reps. Guy Reschanthaler (R-Pa.), Brian Jack (R-Ga.), Riley Morre (R-W.Va.) and Brandon Gill (R-Texas).
If the legislation ends up passing through Congress and is signed into law, the airport will be named ‘‘Donald J. Trump International Airport’’.
I believe there is a 99% chance that they will actually do this. It costs nothing and Dear Leader will be thrilled beyond belief.