Trump's plans for immigration, infrastructure meet swift resistance in Congress
Democrats blasted the president for failing to call out Russia for its interference in the 2016 election, while some conservatives expressed alarm that Trump offered to put more than 1 million young undocumented immigrants on a path to citizenship
President Donald Trump’s pledge in his State of the Union address to “extend an open hand” to both parties in pursuit of an ambitious policy agenda rammed quickly on Wednesday into the reality of a largely gridlocked Congress – and a deeply polarised Washington.
Trump’s call for a massive infrastructure bill to fund new bridges, roads and other projects across the country was shelved, at least for now, as lawmakers prepared to return to their disputes over spending that have gripped the Capitol for weeks.
Democrats, most of whom sat stone-faced in the House chamber during Trump’s Tuesday night address, blasted the president for failing to call out Russia for its interference in the 2016 election and predicted that his scripted call for unity could not make up for a year’s worth of divisive behaviour.
And some conservatives expressed alarm that Trump offered to put more than 1 million young undocumented immigrants on a path to citizenship, as Democrats vowed to fight Trump’s push to curb some forms of legal immigration.
“I enjoyed the fact that the president was measured and scripted, but everything we’re talking about here stays the same,” said Representative Charlie Dent, a centrist Republican who is retiring after this year.
Senator Ted Cruz, a former Trump campaign rival who has become a fierce ally, emerged from the speech and immediately noted the partisan breach and the disconnect between Trump’s words and the dynamics on Capitol Hill.
Watch: Trump’s first State of the Union address