Vice President JD Vance visited his hometown of Middletown Friday to promote a $1 billion investment in the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant.
Speaking after a slew of Ohio’s GOP elected officials and candidates, Vance talked up tariffs and other Trump administration economic policies ahead of a contentious midterm season and credited those policies with the steel plant upgrade.
“I’m here with a message from the President of the United States,” Vance said. “The future of America, the future of the United States, the future of our homes and communities is gonna be built right here in Middletown, Ohio.”
The money will be used to upgrade the facility's blast furnace and material-handling. It will also implement artificial intelligence, which Vance said will “protect and create tons of new jobs,” as well as reduce pollution.
“We’re gonna upgrade the iron-making furnace, we’re gonna implement cutting edge new technology to optimize furnace operation and improve Middletown’s air quality,” he said.
Vance, who wrote about Middletown extensively in his 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” said he remembers his grandfather working for Armco Steel, the former owner of the plant.
“Papaw was a welder in this place for forty years,” Vance said. “And today his grandson stands here as the vice president of these United States. It’s an amazing thing.”
Vance used his speech to criticize what he said are decades of disinvestment in domestic manufacturing by the “far left” — not mentioning that half of the new investment in Cleveland-Cliffs was awarded under the Biden administration.
What will the $1 billion be used for?
Cleveland-Cliffs will contribute $500 million. The other $500 million is being repurposed from a previously awarded grant from Biden’s Department of Energy.
The money was originally meant to be used to convert the plant’s furnace from coal-burning to electric and hydrogen-fueled, according to reporting from WYSO.
The decision to redirect the money is a mistake, said Sierra Club volunteer Marilyn Wall.
“It’s a misuse of funds,” she said. “They were appropriated by Congress for one purpose, and they’re taking them away from that purpose, which included cleaning up the environment, to continue harming the community,” she said.
Donna Ballinger, a Middletown resident who lives near the steel plant, said her quality of life is constantly impacted by Cleveland-Cliffs’ coal-powered operations. Speaking to WVXU outside her home near the steel plant, Ballinger said many days she wakes up to various dusty films on her car, and she suspects the proximity of the coal-burning mill has contributed to respiratory issues among people she knows.''
“People have a lot of things going on with their health. I’ve lost a lot of family to cancer. Do I blame those?” she asked, gesturing toward the plant. “Yes.”
Company CEO Lourenco Goncalves did not mention the previous intended use of the funds during remarks at Friday’s event.
Instead, he said the money will allow Cleveland-Cliffs to build a co-generating facility that will use blast furnace gas to create electricity.
That will free up the city’s energy grid for Middletown residents, Goncalves said.
“This project will ensure that we are going to be the most energy-efficient steel mill in the United States and the top of the line in the entire world,” Goncalves said.
The project will employ more than 1,500 workers, he said.
It’s set to begin in the coming weeks, and the blast furnace rebuild will take place at the start of 2030, according to a press release.
Looking ahead to the midterms
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine joined other Ohio elected officials, including senators Bernie Moreno and John Husted, at Friday’s event.
The governor said the investment will ensure Cleveland-Cliffs “will stay modern, will stay competitive and will be employing people for decades and decades and decades in the future.”
“This truly is a great day for the state of Ohio,” DeWine said.
GOP candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy and several other candidates for office also made speeches at the event. They highlighted the announcement as a reason for Republicans to show up with strong support for the party on Election Day.
Vance, who also used the event to tout President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, echoed their remarks.
“You know who the Trump administration puts first?” Vance asked. “You, my friends.”
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