Trump and Andrew Cuomo discuss plans to 'supercharge' economy with infrastructure

President Trump and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo plan to send a bipartisan "supercharge" into the U.S. economy.

The Democratic governor told reporters in Washington, D.C., that he had a "good discussion" with Trump on Wednesday about ways to revitalize the state and national economies, which have been rattled by widespread shutdowns to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“It was a good discussion, he understood what we were talking about, understood what we need, and he’s going to be thinking about it, talk to his team, and he said we’ll talk next week,” Cuomo told reporters.

Cuomo is hoping to fast-track several New York infrastructure projects with Trump's assistance, specifically mentioning a $30 billion dollar Gateway Tunnel project, the Second Avenue Subway project, and the building of an air train to LaGuardia Airport.

Despite their "political differences," Cuomo said he and the president have worked cooperatively to reopen the economy.

“It was not about politics,” Cuomo said. “It was about how do we supercharge the reopening especially in New York which has been hardest hit, how do we take some of these big infrastructure projects that have been sitting around for a long time — which if we were all smarter and better we would have done them 30 years ago — and actually get them up and running because we have to do this work anyway and because we need the jobs now more than ever.”

Infrastructure was a heavily emphasized issue during Trump's campaign in 2016 and early presidency, with him mentioning it at every State of the Union address with the exception of 2020, but the effort has struggled to gain bipartisan traction in Congress.

"We will build new roads, and highways, and bridges, and airports, and tunnels, and railways all across our wonderful nation," Trump said during his 2017 inaugural address, promising to end the "American carnage."

Trump told Congress during his State of the Union address last year that infrastructure investments were a "necessity" for the future.

“Both parties should be able to unite for a great rebuilding of America’s crumbling infrastructure,” Trump said during his speech. “I know that Congress is eager to pass an infrastructure bill, and I am eager to work with you on legislation to deliver new and important infrastructure investment.”

In 2018, the president said U.S. infrastructure was "crumbling."

"America is a nation of builders. We built the Empire State Building in just one year — is it not a disgrace that it can now take 10 years just to get a permit approved for a simple road?" Trump said, calling on Congress to produce a bill would invest at least $1.5 trillion in the area.

As Congress began to pass relief bills amid the outbreak of the coronavirus in March, Trump advocated for a "Phase 4" economic bill that would include a $2 billion infrastructure investment.

"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," Trump tweeted at the time.