‘I could not be quiet’: Why this top Pa. state senator spoke out early in support of the U.S. Steel deal

As other state public officials seek to make known their roles in one of the largest acquisitions of a steel company in modern history, in the background is Kim Ward, the 5-foot-tall state Senate president pro tempore.

Though small in stature, Ward loomed large as one of the first and most vocal elected officials about the potential deal in Pennsylvania, telling anyone who would listen, by her account — from the White House, to residents of her Western Pennsylvania district — that the Mon Valley’s beleaguered U.S. Steel should be acquired by its Japanese competitor, Nippon Steel, to ensure the industry remains in the state and thrives.

But negotiating major international acquisitions is not in the job description for a Senate president pro tempore, the top official in the Pennsylvania state Senate whose main constitutional duty is to refer each bill to a committee for consideration, or fill in when the lieutenant governor isn’t presiding over the chamber.

Rather, Ward, 68, said, it was personal.

Ward’s dad, who was a specialty steel machinist in Washington County where she grew up, lost his job when steel plants across the region announced closures, as the steel industry started shifting jobs overseas. The outspoken and blunt leader said she couldn’t let it happen again.

“I could not be quiet. We have to save these jobs,” she said in an interview earlier this month. “I had to speak up, and I wanted to. I am honored to be in a position where people in power maybe, kinda listen.”

And, evidently, she said, they did.

President Donald Trump signed the nearly $15 billion deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel earlier this month. The deal keeps U.S. Steel headquartered in Pittsburgh, with an American chief operating officer, a majority of Americans on the board, and major investments to remake the struggling steelmaking giant. It was more than 18 months in the making, with former President Joe Biden previously taking action to block the acquisition due to the United Steelworkers Union’s opposition to it, before Trump revived it.

The union remains opposed to the purchase due to Nippon’s “history of unfair trade practices,” however some individual steelworkers joined Trump at a celebratory rally at a U.S. Steel plant last month.

In the deal, Trump also successfully negotiated a so-called “golden share” of power in the buyout that gives him authority to appoint a board member and other decision-making powers. It was a successful end for Trump — and Western Pennsylvania’s steel industry.

The steel industry in Western Pennsylvania bears little resemblance to that of Eastern Pennsylvania’s. It is embedded in the fabric of Pittsburgh and the region, Ward said. Its decline decades earlier is still felt today, as the area continues to try to rebuild and reimagine itself.

“It was devastating. That’s why we see so many Steelers bars around the country: Those guys and women couldn’t get jobs and they left,” Ward said.

Allowing the sale of U.S. Steel to a foreign company, the deal was politically complicated. Many public officials walked the line, saying these jobs need to stay in Pennsylvania, but not throwing their support behind it.

When leaders like U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.) were publicly quiet about where they stood on the deal while privately lobbying Trump to support it, Ward was steadfast in frequent public statements, letters to top officials, or newspaper op-eds: U.S. Steel’s future needed to be secured, and she would do whatever she could to ensure that.

Behind the scenes, Ward and her staff were waking up at 3 or 4 a.m. each day for months this spring to try to reach stakeholders in Japan, which is 13 hours ahead of Pennsylvania, by phone or email after markets closed there. They were in frequent contact with the White House, including meetings with top administration officials, and in constant contact with U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel, Ward said.

Ward was an “early, vocal advocate for securing a strong future for U.S. Steel,” said Amanda Malkowski, a U.S. Steel spokesperson.

“She stood up for workers and a new partnership that will bring economic benefit to Pittsburgh and across the southwest Pennsylvania region,” Malkowski added.

Several Pennsylvania officials have sought to make known their roles in the wake of the deal. McCormick, in an interview with The Inquirer, said he directly lobbied Trump in March during his visit to Philadelphia, despite his careful public approach.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, used his time on the phone with Trump after the arson attack on the governor’s residence to advocate for the deal, he said at the time.

Members of the congressional delegation also were involved and influential in securing the deal. And many of Pennsylvania’s congressional officials, as well as Shapiro, celebrated when Trump signaled he’d secured the deal.

Ward, for her part, was adamant she does not want to take credit for the nearly $15 billion deal. In an interview, she praised Trump, Nippon Steel, and several members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation for securing U.S. Steel’s future for decades to come.

To some degree, Ward had more of an ability than other lawmakers to publicly support the Steel deal, because she is not in Congress, where the political stakes of such a move may be higher, and not directly at the negotiating table. But her public and private support — in which she helped Nippon Steel acquire earlier meetings with top White House cabinet officials to reach the agreement as shown in briefs obtained by The Inquirer — helped move the needle.

Part of Ward’s role, according to Pittsburgh business officials, was convincing local stakeholders that it was OK that a Japanese company purchased the U.S. flagship steel brand. This investment, she said, will secure the future of the steel industry in Pennsylvania.

“I really didn’t have a concern, not like I may have had a concern if it had been somebody who’s not one of our best allies. But Japan’s one of our great allies.”

Another 100-year-old turbomachinery company in her district had been acquired by a Japanese company a few years ago: Ebara Corp., which is headquartered in Tokyo. The Ebara Elliott Energy company’s massive steam turbines and centrifuge compressors are now manufactured in Jeannette, Westmoreland County, and in a small Japanese coastal city.

Nippon Steel is the fourth-largest steel company in the world, headquartered in Tokyo. Acquiring a U.S. operation was a major goal for the company to grow globally, and has the chance to avoid Trump’s tough tariffs by producing in America, Reuters reported.

Ward was “a catalyst for confidence” that “it was OK to make this deal,” said Mike Huwar, the president of Peoples Gas, which supports U.S. Steel and its plants in Western Pennsylvania as its natural gas company.

Huwar praised Ward for “taking the leadership position to say, ‘We’re gonna fight for this because this is the right thing to do.’”

“She sat at the head of the table, and she was running the show,” said Gregg Troian, the president of PGT Trucking, which is one of the largest transporters of U.S. Steel products in Pittsburgh.

Ward was most excited about Nippon Steel’s promise to help Pittsburgh’s steel industry adapt, develop, and innovate itself. With Nippon Steel’s investment, U.S. Steel will be able to update its facilities that were once built by Andrew Carnegie and imagine new ones, she said.

The deal’s final execution earlier this month by Trump relieves “a lot of anxiety” that’s been building for U.S. steelworkers and the more than 11,000 jobs it created or supports in the Pittsburgh region, Huwar added.

On May 30, Trump hosted a rally with steelworkers at U.S. Steel mill outside Pittsburgh, and gave Ward a nod.

“Good job, Kim,” he said.