WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump, who made a fortune in real estate before running for political office, has decided to donate his first-quarter salary of $78,333 to the National Park Service, the White House announced on Monday.

During the presidential campaign, Trump said he would donate his $400,000 annual salary if he were elected. "That's no big deal for me," he told a town-hall style meeting in September 2015.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, whose agency oversees the 100-year-old protector of 417 national parks, monuments and other sites, said he was "thrilled" at Trump's decision.

"We are going to dedicate and put it against the infrastructure on our nation's battlefields," Zinke said, appearing alongside White House spokesman Sean Spicer at a daily briefing. "We are about $229 million behind in deferred maintenance on our battlefields alone," Zinke said.

Also on Monday, Trump administration said the president plans to hold a town hall meeting with about 50 business leaders on Tuesday at the White House to talk about ways of improving the business climate.

The meeting, which will include the chief executives of Citigroup Inc, Blackstone Group LP, JetBlue Airways Corp, Mastercard Inc and the New York Stock Exchange, will involve discussions on infrastructure, modernizing government, workforce development and creating a pro-business climate.

It comes as the administration is shifting its focus to tax reform and possibly a major investment in infrastructure after suffering a major setback when a Trump-backed healthcare reform package failed to win enough support to pass the House of Representatives.

The town hall is an "opportunity to discuss policies to create a pro-business climate with top Partnership CEOs from all industries," White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said.

Reuters

(China Daily USA 04/04/2017 page2)