President Donald Trump unveiled his midterm strategy Monday during a press conference in the Oval Office, one that hinges on what one expert described as a "monumental scandal," according to a new report.
Trump announced Monday that a massive new steel mill will be built in Iowa as part of an $18 billion overall investment, the New York Times reported. The announcement is part of the president's strategy to highlight how many jobs he's created ahead of the consequential midterm elections, and he noted during a press conference that the project likely wouldn't have gone through if a "less friendly" administration occupied the White House.
The report also gives good reason to be concerned about the investment. For instance, Mesabi Metallic, the company behind the investment, once hired Trump associate Jason Miller to a $ 240,000-a-year lobbying contract. That was during a time when Miller was also raking in about $150,000 a year from a lobbying contract from the Indian government to attract Mesabi's business, according to the report.
“In any other administration, this would be treated as a monumental scandal,” Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, told the NYT. “But in this one, it’s just another day.”
The report suggested that Trump may use these kinds of deals to win over Republicans in states where voters seem to be tiring of him. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds praised the steel mill project.
"This opportunity will fundamentally change the economic trajectory of our state and the entire region for decades to come," she told the Times in a statement.