By Itunuoluwa Adebo

President Trump’s pledge to create a program that funds $1 trillion in new infrastructure programs has kicked off with ­numerous meetings but few firm decisions, beset by under staffing, bureaucratic challenges and major questions about  how to pay for everything.

Trump promised in a February speech to Congress that a $1 trillion infrastructure rebuilding plan would create “millions of new jobs,” but few of those jobs are expected to materialize this year, because no firm deadlines have been set and much of the planning could spill into 2018.

Despite those challenges, the White House’s infrastructure team has become one of its broadest task forces, with Trump considering it a central plank of his promise to create more jobs. He has activated a team of White House and Cabinet agency officials to identify a wide range of infrastructure projects across the United States and come up with a way to fund them, launching the internal deliberations to design the $1 trillion package he promised on the campaign trail.

On Wednesday, Trump hosted an infrastructure-focused luncheon with SpaceX founder Elon Musk, General Atlantic chief executive William Ford and a number of others. On Tuesday, Trump discussed infrastructure with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

And on Capitol Hill at a Senate hearing, highway officials and other interested parties aired some ideas for funding new projects

Itunuoluwa