Trump shows willingness to raise fuel taxes

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is signalling his openness to a 25-cent fuel tax increase to help pay for his infrastructure proposal in a meeting with members of Congress.

Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware says in a statement that Trump said he’d be willing to provide leadership on a 25-cent increase in the federal gas and diesel tax, which hasn’t been increased since 1993.

Trump made the comments in a meeting with lawmakers Wednesday to discuss his infrastructure plan.

The White House is declining comment on his discussions in the closed-door meeting. But a spokeswoman says “everything is on the table” in the infrastructure plan, the gas tax has “pros and cons” and Trump was “leading a thoughtful discussion” on ways to address the nation’s infrastructure problems.