President Donald Trump used his administration’s “golden share” authority to block the shutdown of U.S. Steel’s Granite City, Illinois plant, according to The Wall Street Journal. Nippon Steel acquired U.S. Steel in June for $14.1 billion under a deal that gave the White House veto power over key corporate actions through a National Security Agreement. The Granite City facility, which employs 800 workers, had been slated to close, with employees promised pay during downtime. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick intervened directly, calling the plan “nonsense” in a CNBC interview, and U.S. Steel reversed course, announcing operations would continue. Union leaders had opposed the takeover, citing risks of closures and foreign imports, while the companies had initially promoted the deal as a path to protect and expand over 100,000 jobs.
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