As a Kentucky mill shutters, steelworkers see the limits of Trump’s intervention

Washington Post logoAlthough tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum imports provided a temporary boost, the industry is seeing another decline

ASHLAND, KENTUCKY — Brenda Deborde cried throughout her 16-hour shift at the steel plant here when she received official notice this August that her job was being cut.

Deborde had hoped President Trump’s tariffs could revive this once-mighty mill on a bank of the Ohio River, which for much of the 20th century formed the center of economic life in this part of Eastern Kentucky.

She and her husband, Matt, had traveled to welcome the president as he went to a rally in nearby Huntington, W.Va., waving their Trump flag and “Make America Great Again” hat to the motorcade from the side of the road.

View the complete October 25 article by Jeff Stein on The Washington Post website here.