Vice President JD Vance launches $1 billion public‑private manufacturing initiative at Ohio steel mill, invokes Huey Long

At the Cleveland‑Cliffs Middletown Works plant in Middletown, Ohio, Vice President JD Vance launched a $1 billion public‑private initiative aimed at “transformational manufacturing.” He framed the decline in local wages and jobs as the result of illegal immigration, open‑border policies, and trade deals that moved work overseas, linking those trends to rising opioid addiction and crime. Vance referenced the late Louisiana governor Huey Long’s “every man a king” mantra while criticizing Democratic immigration policies. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Ohio elected officials are scheduled to appear with Vance at the event, which is part of a national tour to promote the administration’s economic agenda and support Republican candidates ahead of the November elections.