Jim Puzzanghera

Thomas Rutledge, chief executive of Charter Communications, committed in a meeting with President Donald Trump to invest $25 billion on broadband infrastructure while joining a trend of business leaders touting previously announced job creation at the White House. In the case of Charter — Southern California’s dominant cable-TV and Internet service provider — Rutledge said he expected to hire 20,000 new US employees over the next four years. Charter had made the hiring promise in 2015 when it was purchasing Time Warner Cable. The new development was the time period in which it will occur. Nevertheless, President Trump indicated the job creation was triggered by his election.

“We are really in the process of announcements and you’re going to see thousands and thousands and thousands of jobs and companies and everything coming back into our country,” President Trump said, flanked by Rutledge and Gov Greg Abbott (R-TX). “They’re coming in far faster than even I had projected.” The large investment in broadband infrastructure was a new commitment from Charter. Rutledge signaled that it was made because of the policies of President Trump and congressional Republicans, who have promised to cut corporate taxes and reduce regulations.

Media companies are preparing for some whirlwind courtships in what’s expected to be the biggest merger bonanza in years.

Verizon, the nation’s largest phone company with more than 114 million wireless subscribers, could pair up with Charter Communications, which has more than 17 million customers in such key markets as Los Angeles, New York and Dallas. This romance and others appear to be blooming one week after President Donald Trump took office and designated a new Federal Communications Commission chairman who favors a more hands-off approach to government regulation than his predecessor.

Traditional media companies desperate for growth don’t want to get left behind as rivals bulk up in an effort to survive a more difficult environment. “What is driving this [merger activity] is challenges in these businesses,” said Matthew Harrigan, a senior analyst with Wunderlich Securities. “There are not a lot of elephants on the savanna, and when one moves, you have to move too.” Trump administration appointees are expected to be friendlier to corporate mergers, returning to a traditional Republican openness to approving major deals after eight years of heightened scrutiny — and some major rejections — under Democratic appointees of former President Barack Obama.

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen billionaire financier Wilbur Ross, known as the king of bankruptcy for his investments in distressed properties, to serve as Commerce Secretary. If confirmed, Ross would become the Trump Administration’s chief liaison with the business community and a leading advocate for US trade abroad.

Ross said he wanted to fix “dumb trade” deals made by the US and would work to improve the quality of US jobs. Like President-elect Trump, Ross has been critical of US trade deals. He sharply criticized trade negotiators and called for the US to withdraw from the yet-to-be-ratified Trans-Pacific Partnership and to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump has pledged to do both upon taking office.