. Those actions had been stalled by the lawsuits.

Trump’s first stop was Saudi Arabia, just as during his first term. He picked the destination after he said the kingdom had pledged to spend $1 trillion on U.S. companies over four years. The White House has since announced thatHow much of that will actually be new investment — or come to fruition — remains to be seen.

The president is also stopping in the UAE, which has pledged $1.4 trillion in U.S. investments over the next 10 years, and in Qatar, where Trump says accepting the gift of a Boeing 747 from the ruling family is a no-brainer, dismissing security and ethical concerns raised by Democrats and even some conservatives.Trump’s first commercial foray in the Middle East came in 2005, during just his second year of starring on “The Apprentice.” A Trump Tower Dubai project was envisioned as a tulip-shaped hotel to be perched on the city’s manmade island shaped like a palm tree.It never materialized.

Instead, February 2017 saw the announced opening of Trump International Golf Club Dubai, with Sajwani’s DAMAC Properties. Just a month earlier, Trump had said that Sajwani had tried to make a $2 billion deal with him, “And I turned it down.”“I didn’t have to turn it down, because as you know, I have a no-conflict situation because I’m president,” Trump said then.

This January, there was a beaming Sajwani standing triumphantly by Trump’s side at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, to announce DAMAC’s investment in U.S. data centers.

“It’s been amazing news for me and my family when he was elected in November,” Sajwani said. “For the last four years, we’ve been waiting for this moment.”“New York City deserves a Penn Station that reflects America’s greatness and is safe and clean. The MTA’s history of inefficiency, waste, and mismanagement also meant that a new approach is needed,” Duffy said in a prepared release.

The administration did not immediately provide details of how the reconstruction would proceed or how long it would take.Gov. Kathy Hochul called the move “a major victory for New Yorkers” that would save them tax money. Hochul said she had asked Trump for federal funding.

“I want to thank the President and Secretary Duffy for taking on the sole responsibility to deliver the beautiful new $7 billion station that New Yorkers deserve,” Hochul said in a prepared release.Authority Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said he was glad the federal government was focusing on the project, and that he expected the MTA to participate in the plans as the station’s major leaseholder.