President Trump continues to fulfill campaign promise, donates his 2017 fourth-quarter salary

United States President Donald Trump has decided to donate his salary for the fourth-quarter of 2017 to the Transportation Department. The check from the POTUS amounted to US$100,000 (AU$126,000).

The donation has been confirmed by the White House. “Today, the president is proud to donate his fourth-quarter 2017 salary to the Department of Transportation to support their programs to rebuild and modernize our crumbling infrastructure,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a press briefing.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is accepting the check. The president hopes to help address the United States' infrastructure.

The Transportation Department revealed that the donated funds will be used for a grant program that deals with critical infrastructure projects. It is not the first time that the POTUS donated his salary as he had precisely helped with the findings for the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Park Service and the Education Department.

Trump’s donations are a fulfilment of his promise during the 2016 presidential campaign. He must be paid by law, but he opted to donate his money.

For the 2019 Budget, Trump's budget proposal suggests his main priorities, providing funds for some initiatives. The budget reportedly calls for increasing the number of strategic missile interceptors and improving other elements of missile defence. It also calls for adding 450 Secret Service agents and support staff.

Another campaign promise that the POTUS is fulfilling is related to education. He proposes to put “more decision-making power in the hands of parents and families” in choosing schools for their kids. It would mean broader private and public school choice for parents.

A new Opportunity Grants program would give scholarships to low-income students to attend private schools. An increased number of magnet schools offering specialised instruction generally focused on particular curricula is also proposed. Also, Trump's 2019 budget will mean a boost for the Veterans Choice health care program.

The Trump administration called for boosting charter and private school funding last year. Those initiatives, however, did not win the approval of Congress.

The commander-in-chief’s approval rating has recorded the best it has been in nine months. Trump has earned an approval rating of 41.2 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight’s approval rating tracker, a weighted average of various pollsters’ findings.

That was the president’s best rating since all the way back in mid-May. At that time, his approval plunged amid news about his firing of FBI Director James Comey.