According to local news reports, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) invited President Trump to visit Lorain and help prevent the permanent closure in June of one of US Steel’s tubular operations, which was idled in 2015. The plant, which makes smaller-diameter pipes, has suffered from lower demand in the natural gas industry and low-priced pipe imports.
"We have to have a capability as a country, for the sake of our own economy as well as our defense, to have a robust domestic steel industry,” Kaptur told local media. “We can't just keep doling it away to foreign countries that, by the way, don't play by the rules.”
Kaptur acknowledged that while she’s not a member of the president’s party, “He made a promise,” she said. “He talked about re-doing various trade deals. He talked about places like Ohio. So I think this should be a high priority for his administration and I’m hoping he will jump to the occasion.”
Kaptur also plans to invite Vice President Mike Pence to meet with representatives from US Steel and Republic Steel, which recently idled its Lorain plant.