U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick, two late-game supporters of U.S. Steel’s sale to Nippon Steel, are touring the Edgar Thomson Works on Friday morning.
The visit to the Braddock blast furnaces also includes Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner.
According to a news release from the McCormick camp, officials will “see firsthand how the historic agreement between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel has and will impact the plant, its workers and the surrounding community.”
Japan’s largest steelmaker acquired U.S. Steel in June after more than a year and a half of debate over whether an iconic American firm in a critical industry should come under foreign control.
The deal initially found few fans in Washington, D.C., but that slowly changed after then-President Joe Biden struck it down in January on national security grounds. Just a month later, President Donald Trump made some remarks that seemed deal-curious, and by May, he gave his blessing to a “partnership” between the companies — no different from a sale, other than its political palatability.
The federal government also carved out what’s known as a golden share for itself, allowing Trump to block several kinds of major business moves, like shuttering plants or moving U.S. Steel’s headquarters from Pittsburgh.
Along the way, Fetterman and McCormick came around to the deal, citing the up to $14 billion in additional investments in U.S. Steel promised by Nippon.