Ohio’s top ranking Democrat, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, is proposing a measure in hopes of saving the Lordstown manufacturing plant from shutdown by General Motors. To seal the deal, he’s reaching out to a regular opponent of his, President Donald Trump.
Brown wants Congress to move on his “American Cars, American Jobs Act,” which would end tax cuts for companies that move overseas and put that revenue into incentives for customers to buy American-made cars.
GM plans to shut down the Lordstown plant, which manufactures the unpopular Chevy Cruze, in March. The move would cut 1,500 jobs, a move Brown slammed as “corporate greed at its worst,” while GM says it will build a new plant in Mexico.
Brown says the Mahoning Valley isn’t going to give up without a fight, and there’s no reason GM can’t retool the Lordstown plant.
“They got billions of dollars – GM did – most of that money went into the pockets of executives and stock buybacks and big investors and they should be investing that in this company and in this plant,” Brown says.
Brown says when he talked to Trump about his idea, the president seemed engaged and willing to support the measure. Trump has also hinted at introducing tariffs on car imports and slashing federal subsidies to GM, in retaliation for their plan to shut five factories around the U.S.
Trump also criticized Brown for failing to stop the plant’s closure, saying, “Ohio wasn’t properly represented by their Democrat senator.”
In response, Brown – who’s considering a 2020 presidential run – told Trump to stop “pointing figures” and take action on his bill.
"I'll stand up for my record fighting for American workers against this president's, any day, on any issue,” Brown said.
