Steel mill politics, Trump v Selzer, Bernie for Chris Jones

President Donald Trump announced today, as we are live on this Monday, that Masabi Metallics is planning to build a $15 billion steel mill in southeast Iowa.

The White House said it would be the largest steel plant in U.S. history and would create 1,750 permanent jobs in Iowa.

And Donald Trump said this afternoon that construction could start very soon, and they are projecting that this could create as many as 6,000 construction jobs.

The idea is that the plant would be ready to open in 2030 in Lee County.

That's in the far southeast corner of the state.

Governor Kim Reynolds, Senator Joni Ernst, Representatives Ashley Hinson and Marionette Miller-Meeks, as well as Attorney General Brenna Byrd joined President Trump for today's announcement at the White House.

In a statement, the governor called the project a transformational opportunity for our country, our state and American families, end quote.

And all of the Iowans who were there, they praised Donald Trump and thanked him for helping to make this possible.

I understand why Representative Miller-Meeks was there.

This, of course, would be in her district.

And I can understand why Joni Ernst, the outgoing senator, and Ashley Hinson, who's running for Senate, would be there.

I'm not really clear on why the attorney general would be at the White House for this kind of announcement.

And it just made me think that Brenna Byrd maybe saw a political advantage in standing alongside President Trump in, of course, she's in that high reelection bid right now.

Rob Sand, the Democratic candidate for governor, posted today, quote, This is a promising idea for Lee County and our state, given that our economy is among the worst in the nation.

I look forward to hearing more details, particularly on what protections for Iowa taxpayers will be built into the deal and what guarantees will exist for Iowa workers to build and work in the plant if Iowa taxpayers will be asked to chip in, end quote.

And he also said that he feels strongly that the next state auditor, no matter which party they're in, should be able to ensure accountability for taxpayers.

A few years ago, Rob Sand raised the alarm about Iowa giving big tax incentives more than a decade ago to build a fertilizer plant in Lee County.

The idea behind those incentives was that this was going to create competition in fertilizer manufacturing.

But then a few years ago, Koch Industries, which has almost a monopoly in fertilizer production, ended up buying that plant.

So Rob Sand raised questions about why the state of Iowa taxpayers, as well as Lee County taxpayers, gave so much in incentives for a plant that didn't end up leading to more competition in the fertilizer production field.

Zach Lane, the Republican nominee for governor, posted on social media that the planned steel plant is a, quote, direct result of focusing on building in America.

He said he was, quote, looking forward to working with President Trump to get this plant fully online, end quote.

And I reached out to Zach Lane's campaign.

I also tried to get a comment on social media today.

He is on record, both on his website and in some of his public appearances, saying, As opposing incentives for out-of-state companies, he said that he thinks that any incentives should go for homegrown Iowa businesses and entrepreneurs, and that those people have more stake than an out-of-state company.

President Donald Trump announced today, as we are live on this Monday, that Masabi Metallics is planning to build a $15 billion steel mill in southeast Iowa.

The White House said it would be the largest steel plant in U.S. history and would create 1,750 permanent jobs in Iowa.

And Donald Trump said this afternoon that construction could start very soon, and they are projecting that this could create as many as 6,000 construction jobs.

The idea is that the plant would be ready to open in 2030 in Lee County.

That's in the far southeast corner of the state.

Governor Kim Reynolds, Senator Joni Ernst, Representatives Ashley Hinson and Marionette Miller-Meeks, as well as Attorney General Brenna Byrd joined President Trump for today's announcement at the White House.

In a statement, the governor called the project a transformational opportunity for our country, our state and American families, end quote.

And all of the Iowans who were there, they praised Donald Trump and thanked him for helping to make this possible.

I understand why Representative Miller-Meeks was there.

This, of course, would be in her district.

And I can understand why Joni Ernst, the outgoing senator, and Ashley Hinson, who's running for Senate, would be there.

I'm not really clear on why the attorney general would be at the White House for this kind of announcement.

And it just made me think that Brenna Byrd maybe saw a political advantage in standing alongside President Trump in, of course, she's in that high reelection bid right now.

Rob Sand, the Democratic candidate for governor, posted today, quote, This is a promising idea for Lee County and our state, given that our economy is among the worst in the nation.

I look forward to hearing more details, particularly on what protections for Iowa taxpayers will be built into the deal and what guarantees will exist for Iowa workers to build and work in the plant if Iowa taxpayers will be asked to chip in, end quote.

And he also said that he feels strongly that the next state auditor, no matter which party they're in, should be able to ensure accountability for taxpayers.

A few years ago, Rob Sand raised the alarm about Iowa giving big tax incentives more than a decade ago to build a fertilizer plant in Lee County.

The idea behind those incentives was that this was going to create competition in fertilizer manufacturing.

But then a few years ago, Koch Industries, which has almost a monopoly in fertilizer production, ended up buying that plant.

So Rob Sand raised questions about why the state of Iowa taxpayers, as well as Lee County taxpayers, gave so much in incentives for a plant that didn't end up leading to more competition in the fertilizer production field.

Zach Lane, the Republican nominee for governor, posted on social media that the planned steel plant is a, quote, direct result of focusing on building in America.

He said he was, quote, looking forward to working with President Trump to get this plant fully online, end quote.

And I reached out to Zach Lane's campaign.

I also tried to get a comment on social media today.

He is on record, both on his website and in some of his public appearances, saying, As opposing incentives for out-of-state companies, he said that he thinks that any incentives should go for homegrown Iowa businesses and entrepreneurs, and that those people have more stake than an out-of-state company.