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JD Vance announces $500M grant at plant where 'papaw' spent 40 years. Cincinnati Enquirer Updated Aug. 21, 2026, 3:45 p.m. ET MIDDLETOWN, OH - Vice President JD Vance announced a $500 million federal grant will go toward the steel plant where his grandfather spent nearly 40 years as a welder. The grant, first offered to Cleveland-Cliffs in Middletown, Ohio, during the Biden administration, was supposed to be used to make the steel plant more environmentally friendly. Under President Donald Trump, the Cleveland-based company will use the federal dollars for traditional steelmaking methods that use coal and other upgrades, including ones that incorporate artificial intelligence. CEO Lourenco Goncalves said Cleveland-Cliffs will also invest $500 million into the Middletown Works steel plant for a total $1 billion investment. Goncalves thanked the Trump administration and said that with the grant and Trump's tariffs: "There's no end in sight here at Middletown Works. We are here to stay." In a hour-plus long event heavy on politics, Vance said the new federal dollars will transform the plant. "The future is going to built right here in Middletown, Ohio," he said. "This is a great day to be a resident of Middletown." Federal officials, local politicians and Cleveland-Cliffs employees met Vance as he visited his hometown - and stopped for a donut at Central Pastry, owned by Middletown's mayor - to make remarks on Friday. Gov. Mike DeWine thanked Trump and said "we are very proud" of Vance. "This truly is a great day for the state of Ohio," the governor said. Local, federal officials celebrate Middletown at steel plant event. Other attendees included Ohio Sens. Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno, Vance's half-brother and former Cincinnati mayoral candidate Cory Bowman, Ohio 1st District congressional candidate Eric Conroy, Ohio Reps. Thomas Hall and Adam Mathews, and Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue. Local officials like Mayor Elizabeth Slamka and Middletown residents also made up the crowd. "If you take a look at the people who attended today's announcement, you can begin to understand just how essential the steel industry and Cleveland-Cliffs are to Middletown and the entire region," Slamka said in a written statement after the event. "Their project represents a $1 billion investment in Middletown Works which includes a new, state-of-the-art cogeneration plant in Middletown, and this demonstrates their long-term commitment and investment to our city and its future." Before Vance took the stage, the crowd listened to music, including "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffet and "American Solider" by Toby Keith. The event began with a prayer that the company would grow closer to God, before Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose led the Pledge of Allegiance. Cleveland-Cliffs grant was first awarded under Biden for clean energy. Cleveland-Cliffs was selected to receive a $500 million federal grant for clean energy projects from the Biden administration in 2024 to replace its Middletown furnace with one that's powered by hydrogen. At the time, the Cleveland-based company committed to spending $1.3 billion of its own money on the update, which would have created almost 200 permanent jobs, reduced production costs and lowered carbon emissions, according to the company. But Cliffs abandoned those plans last year. Goncalves said during a July 2025 earnings call the company wouldn't be pursuing the project because of a lack of available hydrogen. In August 2025, Pat Persico, a Cleveland-Cliffs spokesperson, told The Enquirer that announcements of hydrogen hubs made during the Biden administration had "not materialized" as expected. Environmental groups criticized the new direction of the grant after the announcement on Aug. 21. Middletown Works ranks among Ohio's top 10 industrial polluters for carbon monoxide, lead and other pollutants fine particulate matter The original project proposal was projected to eliminate roughly one million metric tons of carbon emissions annually and drastically cut local smog and soot. A 2024 report by Industrious Labs, an environmental advocacy group, found pollution from Middletown Works contributes to dozens of deaths, over 21,000 cases of asthma symptoms and 44 emergency room visits peach year. "Middletown Works was promised the opportunity to become a global leader in clean steelmaking. Instead, the plant is receiving huge federal incentives to save the company money without meaningfully reducing pollution. Ohio communities like Middletown helped build the American steelmaking industry, they deserve a leading role in its future. This new plan is not that," Hilary Lewis, Steel Director at Industrious Labs, wrote in a statement. What is Cleveland-Cliffs? Cleveland-Cliffs, with its Middletown steel plant and West Chester office, is still a major employer in Butler County. At its peak, Armco, which owned the steel plant for almost 90 yeas, was Middletown's biggest employer. Middletown Works, the Middletown steel plant, now employs almost 2,000 hourly union-represented workers. Armco entered a limited partnership with Kawasaki Steel Corp. in 1989, becoming A.K. Steel. Cleveland-Cliffs, based in Cleveland, bought A.K. Steel in 2020 for $1.1 billion. This story will be updated.

Vice President JD Vance plans trip to Middletown to speak on economic agenda. Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during a rally in his home town of Middletown, Ohio. Posted 3:30 AM, Aug 19, 2026 MIDDLETOWN, Ohio - Vice President JD Vance is returning to Middletown this week to speak about the Trump Administration's "America First" economic agenda, according to an announcement from Vance's team. The brief announcement does not offer much information about Vance's visit, but it says he plans to deliver remarks Friday at the Cleveland-Cliffs Middletown Works facility. Specifics on when this would happen were not provided. A separate announcement says Vance will be accompanied by U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, who will also deliver remarks. This visit will be the first time Vance has returned to Middletown since he campaigned there shortly after he was chosen as President Donald Trump's running mate during the 2024 election. It's unclear whether Vance plans to make a visit to his home in Walnut Hills while in the region; typically a trip home from the vice president means roadways in the area are closed while he's in Cincinnati. His visit comes as Cleveland-Cliffs pursues a major modernization project at its Middletown Works facility. The proposal includes construction of a cogeneration plant and upgrades to a blast furnace and related material-handling operations. Company officials have said the project would rebuild and modernize the facility's iron-making process. The steel mill traces its roots to 1900, when it opened as The American Rolling Mill Company, commonly known as Armco. According to Cleveland-Cliffs, the project could create up to 1,500 jobs, including many positions for local union building trades workers during construction. The project's future, however, remains dependent on regulatory approval. An Ohio Environmental Protection Agency air permit required for the work remains under review, according to an Ohio EPA spokesperson. More local news:

Cleveland-Cliffs reported second-quarter revenue of $5.23 billion, up 5.9% year-over-year and beating the consensus estimate of $5.13 billion. The steelmaker posted a loss per share of $0.20, narrower than the $0.50 loss in the year-ago quarter and slightly better than analysts' expectation of a $0.21 loss. External sales volumes totalled 4,025 thousand tonnes, falling short of the 4,105 thousand tonne analyst estimate. However, the average net selling price per tonne of $1,124 exceeded expectations of $1,109.49. Steelmaking revenue reached $5.05 billion, surpassing the $4.99 billion estimate. Stainless and electrical steel revenues jumped 21% to $525 million, whilst hot-rolled steel revenues rose 15.5% to $1.54 billion.