Trump kicks off week with economic ‘win’ for Iowa

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Today's Top Stories - September 28, 2026

Today's Top Stories - September 28, 2026

▪ Trump touts Iowa steel mill

▪ Education Department strikes LGBTQ protections

▪ Backlash to government-funded ads

▪ Iran denies involvement in U.K. incident

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President Trump unveiled plans for a Minnesota company to build a new $15 billion steel mill in Iowa, kicking off the week with a dose of positive economic news as the GOP contends with weakening polls just five weeks out from the midterms.

Trump made the announcement alongside executives from Mesabi Metallics, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Republican Iowa Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson, who are facing competitive races for House reelection and for Senate, respectively.

“There’s a company known as Mesabi,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “And they’re going to make a big investment in a place called Iowa. I love Iowa. I won Iowa every time. Today, we’re thrilled to announce that Mesabi Metallics will be building the largest steel plant in American history in the great state of Iowa.”

The White House said the mill would be the first mega-steel plant to be built in the U.S. since the 1960s. It is expected to begin operating in 2030 and eventually create 1,750 jobs in Iowa.

Iowa is among the handful of historically red states that have become competitive in 2026, as Democrats increasingly see control of the Senate as within reach.

The Hill’s Mallory Wilson reports that because of the tight races, Republicans from the Hawkeye State have had to weigh just how much they want to tie themselves to the president and his administration.

Hinson skipped Vice President Vance’s trip to Iowa earlier this month, though her campaign cited a scheduling conflict. She has been among the loudest voices calling for federal action to address rising diesel prices.

Miller-Meeks was among the seven Republicans, and two vulnerable Iowa House members, to vote this month to block Trump from continuing the Iran war without first seeking congressional approval.

Since January, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, GOP approval on Trump’s handling of the economy fell from 80 percent to 56 percent and fell from 70 percent to 44 percent on his handling of the cost of living.

“Right now, the races are — it’s more about — it’s, you know, it is affordability issues, it’s the price of diesel in places like Iowa and Kansas and Nebraska and the Midwest, Minnesota,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said yesterday on Fox News’s “America’s Newsroom.”

“I think that’s the issue,” he added. “And what’s happening, Iran [has] sort of trumped everything else that’s going on.”

Trump is reportedly considering a pause or partial ban on exporting diesel fuel, though some key voices in the administration are opposed to it.

The Iowa plant marks Trump’s latest effort to revitalize domestic steel manufacturing after levying steel tariffs during his first term and increasing them to 50 percent last year.

Steel prices in America are some of the highest in the world, raising costs for businesses that rely on steel to produce goods. But steel-industry trade groups have pressed Trump not to weaken tariffs, The Wall Street Journal reported, crediting them with drawing more than $40 billion in investments and creating thousands of new jobs.

“President Trump is delivering on his promise to rebuild American industry, reshore manufacturing, and create new jobs. Today’s announcement underscores the President’s historic efforts to revitalize the U.S. steel industry,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement.

▪ The Hill: New polls have Democrats thinking big on Senate.

▪ The Hill: Trump approval slips to historic low in Wall Street Journal survey.

Trump denied discussing arms sales to China during his meeting last week with Chinese President Xi Jinping, breaking with U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue’s comments on Sunday. Trump said China would probably want to buy U.S. weapons and it may be a........

© The Hill