Trump wings it at his "Chuck 'n Nancy" meetings. But Schumer and Pelosi spend a lot of time choreographing these meetings, according to sources familiar with their planning. They list off things they won't budge on and game out how to respond to Trump’s inevitable curve balls (such as calling in the TV cameras to watch them spar).
Here's what Democrats will demand in Tuesday's infrastructure discussion, per a source familiar:
- Any infrastructure bill "must be real money." Translation: Major federal spending, not through public-private partnerships or deregulation.
- They need to know where the money is coming from. Translation: Trump must be willing to discuss tax hikes to pay for new spending if he wants their support. (Senate Democrats put out a plan last year that proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 25% — still much lower than it was before Trump's tax cuts.)
- The bill must include strong labor protections and must require that materials used be American-made.
- The bill must address climate change, with major investments in renewable energy. (Chuck Schumer gave insight into this in his December op-ed and letter to the president.)
