WASHINGTON – All that is left is for the President-elect Donald Trump to put his name on it—if he wants.

Trump won the White House in large part because of voter frustration with high prices and a sense that the United States needs major changes. But when he takes office in January, Trump will inherit an economy primed for growth.

The unemployment rate is low, inflation is easing, and President Joe Biden’s administration has prepared a ready-made list of infrastructure projects which could go from theory to reality in the next few years. There’s TSMC’s computer chip plant in Arizona, Hyundai’s new electric vehicle plant in Georgia and an upgraded I-375 in Michigan, among thousands of ongoing projects that will take years to complete.

All of this means that it may be Trump, rather than Biden, who can tell Americans that he has rebuilt the country better. If he decides to let the projects continue, that is.

Biden himself acknowledged last week that the positive economic effects of his policies will take place after his term ends in January.

“Much of the work we’ve done is already being felt by the American people, but the vast majority will not be felt, it will be felt in the next 10 years,” he said in remarks in the Rose Garden. “It’s going to take time, but it’s there. The way forward is clear.”

Trump wants to reverse Biden’s policies, but construction is already underway

While Trump on the campaign trail criticized Biden’s record, he offered few details about the initiatives he might abandon. Trump said in September that he would “revoke all unspent funds under the wrong name Inflation Reduction Act ” and said on Joe Rogan’s podcast that the tariffs would do more for manufacturing than the funding provided by CHIPS and the Law of Science.

But Biden aides told The Associated Press privately that they expect Trump to push ahead with planned projects and take credit for Biden’s accomplishments, as do congressional Republicans, who have celebrated factory openings and infrastructure development in their districts. but they voted against them.

The administration spent millions of dollars putting up road signs to promote Biden’s role in the projects; all Trump would have to do is relabel them with his own name. Biden aides are confident Trump won’t want to cut programs that help states he won this year, even as Republicans seek to repeal emblematic provisions to help fund some of their own tax-cut plans .

Asked about that possibility, Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, “The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin, giving him the mandate to implement the promises he made in campaign. He will deliver.”

Natalie Quillian, a deputy chief of staff in Biden’s White House, said the administration’s programs are already starting to make a positive difference to the economy.

“We’ve already announced investments for 70,000 infrastructure and clean energy projects, catalyzed nearly $1 trillion in private sector investment, lowered prescription drug prices, and created 1.6 million construction jobs and manufacturing,” she said. “In the coming months, we will continue to go through the motions and ensure that Americans benefit from this president’s agenda for years to come.”

Trump enters the White House as the economy improves

Trump also inherits by many measures an increasingly healthy economy, despite his claims that conditions are miserable.

The Republican won the election with the unemployment rate at a healthy 4.1 percent, inflation at 2.4 percent and the Federal Reserve cutting its benchmark rates in ways that could support further growth. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell summed up the situation last week by saying the economy was “broadly strong.”

Voters, however, felt the economy was weak. They faulted Democrats for inflation that reflected post-pandemic supply chain challenges, the impact of government aid that also boosted job growth, and Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine that caused energy and food prices to spike.

Voters, however, seemed to care less about the overall rate of inflation than about changes in price levels that have occurred over the past four years. Nearly 9 in 10 identified inflation as an important factor in their choice in this year’s election, with Trump winning the clear majority of that group, according to AP VoteCast, a broad survey of more than 120,000 voters.

Still, economists who have advised him and previously worked with Trump felt the economy is not as strong as the top numbers suggest. They pointed to the high level of government debt that drove economic growth, even though Trump himself had shown little appetite for deficit reduction during his previous tenure in the White House.

“Government spending keeps the economy afloat,” said Joseph LaVorgna, who was the chief economist of the White House National Economic Council during Trump’s presidency.

LaVorgna also noted that much of the recent job growth has come from government and health care employment, rather than manufacturing and other for-profit sectors.

Possible pressure to adopt renewable energy and electric vehicles

There is an acknowledgment among some Republican lawmakers that the energy tax credits that were part of the Inflation Relief Act were positive and should be kept. Eighteen House GOP members sent House Speaker Mike Johnson a letter in August asking him to keep the tax credits.

Economists who support Trump also note that electric vehicle sales growth could increase under the new administration, which has the support of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Trump wanted to eliminate Biden’s incentives for electric vehicles, which are part of the Inflation Relief Act. But after receiving Musk’s endorsement, Trump said he was “for electric cars … because Elon has backed me very strongly.”

That simple shift in Trump talking about electric vehicles could remove politics from the issue and lead the incoming president to meet a goal set by Biden, said economist Stephen Moore, an informal adviser to Trump and an economist at the Heritage Foundation, a think tank. conservative tank.

“With Biden gone, the EV industry will come back,” Moore said. “Biden made EVs toxic because half the country hated Biden, half loved him. People who hated Biden wouldn’t buy an electric vehicle out of conscience.”