Trump touts plans for $15 billion Iowa steel plant

The announcement comes amid a pitched election battle over whether Republicans will retain control of Congress in November’s midterm elections. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump announced plans for Mesabi Metallics to build a $15 billion steel plant in Iowa, joining vulnerable lawmakers from a crucial midterm battleground where voter dissatisfaction over the economy has hurt Republicans.

Trump said the plant, when completed, would produce 10 million tons of steel a year using iron ore from one of the company’s Minnesota mines. During an Oval Office event Sept. 28, he touted it as “the largest plant in America by far.”

“It’s the first new iron ore mine in the United States in more than 50 years,” Trump said. “This steel will be mined, melted, and made right here in the USA.” Trump said the investment would create up to 6,000 construction jobs and nearly 2,000 manufacturing and mining jobs.

Steelmaking at the plant could begin by 2030, according to a White House official who shared details of the investment before the announcement. While that brings the promise of future economic benefits, any effects likely will not be felt before voters head to the polls in November.

The announcement comes amid a pitched election battle over whether Republicans will retain control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, with Iowa playing an unusually central role.

Although Trump won the state in all three of his presidential campaigns and Republicans hold all four of Iowa’s seats in the House, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report has rated two races between Republican incumbents and Democratic challengers as toss-ups.

Polls show a tight contest between Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican seeking a GOP-held Senate seat, and Democrat Josh Turek. Democrats also are looking to take control of the governorship.

Trump was joined at the White House by Hinson and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who is running in a key swing district, as well as Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Joni Ernst. Reynolds and Ernst are not seeking re-election.

Trump vowed to travel to Iowa to rally for Republican candidates. “I’m going to come to Iowa,” he said. “I think I’m more popular now than I was then, which is a year and a half ago.”

Nearly six in 10 registered Iowa voters disapprove of Trump’s job performance, according to a Marist poll released last week. A 43% plurality said their congressional vote is mostly a vote against Trump, compared with 22% who said it is a vote for him.

Iowa’s agriculture-dependent economy has come under strain from high fuel and fertilizer costs, including record-high diesel prices driven by Trump’s war in Iran. The president’s tariffs and trade brinkmanship also have shrunk farmers’ export markets.

Trump has imposed tariffs on imports and relaxed regulations in a bid to nurture domestic manufacturing of key goods, including metals. Under Trump, the U.S. has imposed a 50% tariff on most raw steel imported into the country, with derivative products generally facing a 25% tariff.

Steelmakers have argued that the tariffs are necessary to revive U.S. metal production and increase competition with foreign rivals. In 2025, the U.S. imported about $25 billion worth of steel articles, with the bulk supplied by the European Union and Canada, according to the Congressional Research Service.