GOP House Leaders Push for Public-Private Option to Fund Infrastructure Plan

Two top House Republicans are pushing for public-private partnerships to finance a sweeping infrastructure overhaul — despite President Donald Trump's reported disdain for that model.

According to The Hill, both House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., argued Thursday it is a smart way to pay for any proposed package.

"We ought to look at every option to see if those kinds of partnerships help us build more roads and help meet the needs of communities," Scalise said, The Hill reported.

The comments come after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday they had reached an agreement with Trump to spend $2 trillion on an infrastructure package. 

But in the meeting, Trump called public-private partnerships "so stupid," arguing he was never supportive because "you get sued," The Hill previously reported.

McCarthy disagreed Thursday.

"I think public-private has worked in a lot of places, and I think that you should always use that element too," he said Thursday, saying the model is a way to "leverage money further," The Hill reported.

Scalise urged lawmakers to focus on the "most pressing infrastructure needs that we can afford to meet" before slapping a price tag on it, predicting the final cost will be "a lot lower than $2 trillion," The Hill reported.

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