Trump backtracks on call to gut $300M Great Lakes program

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — After trying repeatedly to gut federal funding of a wide-ranging Great Lakes cleanup, President Donald Trump has reversed course.

The president announced during a rally Thursday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that he is supporting $300 million this year for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

The program has usually gotten about that much annually since it was established during the Obama administration. But Trump’s budgets have tried to remove most or all of its funding, only to be stymied by Congress, where it enjoys bipartisan support.

Trump’s change of heart came after three Republican lawmakers from Michigan lobbied him during a ride from the Grand Rapids airport to the rally.

It happened the same day he reversed his budget’s proposal to slash spending on the Special Olympics.