President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Thursday aimed at expediting various infrastructure projects as a means of boosting post-coronavirus economic recovery.
White House officials told the Daily Caller that the order directs federal agencies to ignore certain environmental regulations that slow construction. Trump signed an executive order in May that declared an “economic emergency” allowing for the suspension of various regulations inhibiting job growth. The order tasked agencies with both temporarily suspending regulations and identifying which rules can be permanently rescinded.
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 01: U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House after posing for photographs in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church June 01, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump held up a bible while standing in front of the church, which was partially burned during violent protests the night before. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The orders mark “the first time in living memory that a president has responded to a national crisis by deregulating instead of grabbing more power,” White House officials told the Daily Caller. (RELATED: Highway Jobbery — 3 Ways To Reverse Massive Coronavirus Unemployment | WALL STREET MEETS WASHINGTON EP. 8)
“Typically when our country has faced a crisis, Washington responds by grabbing more power,” said Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought. “President Trump understands that to get the economy moving, the power needs to be given back to the people and entrepreneurs.”
The Washington Post first reported on the order Thursday morning and noted the order expands on action Trump took in January to limit the scope of the National Environmental Protection Act.
Trump has also frequently called for a trillion-dollar infrastructure push to address rising unemployment and shrinking gross domestic product.
“With interest rates for the United States being at ZERO, this is the time to do our decades long awaited Infrastructure Bill,” he tweeted in May. “It should be VERY BIG & BOLD, Two Trillion Dollars, and be focused solely on jobs and rebuilding the once great infrastructure of our Country!”
With interest rates for the United States being at ZERO, this is the time to do our decades long awaited Infrastructure Bill. It should be VERY BIG & BOLD, Two Trillion Dollars, and be focused solely on jobs and rebuilding the once great infrastructure of our Country! Phase 4
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 31, 2020
