Trump’s top infrastructure aide leaving for ‘new opportunities’

April 4 (UPI) — President Donald Trump’s top infrastructure aide is leaving the White House, administration officials said.

As the National Economic Council’s special assistant to the president for infrastructure, D.J. Gribbin was the chief architect of Trump’s 10-year plan to spend $200 billion from federal coffers on improving U.S. infrastructure.

The money is largely comprised of incentive grants so cities and states will raise $1.5 trillion for major projects like road, bridge and airport upgrades.

The plan stalled in Congress, opposed by Democrats for its reliance on local and private funding and some Republicans for its increases in federal spending after the 2017 tax overhaul.

“Since he joined the team early last year, D.J. has played an important part in coordinating the administration-wide process behind the president’s infrastructure initiative,” NEC chief Gary Cohn said.

Gribbin is leaving for “new opportunities,” a White House official told NBC News.

“The NEC will continue to push the President’s infrastructure initiative as part of his pro-growth economic agenda,” NEC chief in-waiting Larry Kudlow said.

Gribbin was among the aides whose departure was expected by some when Cohn announced last month he was leaving. An unidentified associate of Gribbin’s said at the time that he would remain to lead the administration’s infrastructure plan.

It wasn’t clear exactly when Gribbin would leave his post.

Trump told an Ohio audience last week the infrastructure initiative, a major theme of his State of the Union address in February, would “probably have to wait” until after the midterm elections in November.