Trump unveils $15 billion planned Iowa steel project

US President Donald Trump on Monday said that a Minnesota company plans to build a multi-billion-dollar steel mill in Iowa, handing the administration a marquee manufacturing ‌investment to showcase as Republicans head into November's midterm elections.

Trump unveiled the project at the White House with executives from Mesabi Metallics, which recently opened Minnesota's first new iron ore mine in 50 years. The White House said the plant investment would amount to $15 billion.

The announcement comes as Trump seeks to bolster his economic record ahead of November's election, with his approval rating plumbing all-time lows of late as the Republican Party confronts ​voter concerns about inflation and the cost of living. Trump has made tariffs and a revival of US manufacturing central to his economic agenda, arguing that higher ​barriers to imports will drive investment and jobs back to the United States.

But Republicans are in the midst of several competitive elections in ⁠Iowa, a once-swingy state that has more consistently voted for Trump's party in recent years. Polling this cycle shows a tight race for a seat in the US Senate, as ​well as its gubernatorial race, where the Democratic candidate, Rob Sand, has led most polls.

The potential $15 billion steel project gives Trump a high-profile investment to tout as he makes that case ​to voters. It also comes as the administration faces pressure to show that its policies imposing broad tariffs on US imports can deliver industrial gains without fueling inflation.

"This is a tremendous investment," Trump said in the White House's Oval Office. "Our steel industry is roaring back to life."