Trump ally joins Nippon to help complete U.S. Steel sale
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will reportedly help finalize the $14.9 billion purchase.
Amid a contentious proposed sale, Japanese company Nippon Steel Corp. has hired former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Bloomberg reports that Pompeo was hired to help push through a proposed $14.9 billion purchase of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, as opposition for the sale has grown.
The hire comes at a complicated time politically.
Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have said they oppose the sale of the iconic Pittsburgh company and want to block the deal.
Pompeo, who served under Trump, still has close ties to the former president. He delivered a speech this week at the Republican National Convention where Trump was officially nominated as the party’s candidate for president.
The former secretary of state has also been reported to return to a potential second Trump administration, if Trump wins in November.
In January, Trump pledged to block the Nippon purchase.
The Trump campaign did not return a request for comment.
U.S. Steel stockholders approved the sale to Nippon in April, but the company is seeking approval on the deal from regulatory authorities, including the U.S. Department of Justice, company officials told TribLive in April.
Headquartered in Downtown Pittsburgh, U.S. Steel employs about 3,000 workers in Pennsylvania. Its locally run mill sit on the banks of the Monongahela River and include Clairton Coke Works and Edgar Thomson Steel Works in Braddock, one of the last remaining major steel mills in the Pittsburgh area.
Nippon, Japan’s largest steelmaker, has pledged to keep all Pittsburgh-area jobs intact and promised to keep U.S. Steel’s headquarters in Downtown Pittsburgh.
The United Steelworkers, which represents workers at the facilities, has been vehemently opposed to the sale. Several local politicians have joined them in opposition, citing national security concerns and complaints the workers have never been included in the deal.
