Top PA Republican calls out Biden, 'elitist environmentalists' over at least 1,000 lost steel jobs

Pennsylvania State Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward argued on Thursday that Scranton native Joe Biden and his administration are “partially responsible” for the cancelation of a $1.5 billion steel project, which would cost “at least 1,000 blue collar jobs” because “of their focus on only green energy.”

According to the company, project permits initially stalled by the coronavirus pandemic never materialized, U.S. Steel has added capacity elsewhere and now it must shift its focus to its goal of getting rid of greenhouse gas emissions from its facilities by 2050. Ward called the situation an "epic disaster," explaining that "here we are with all of these blue-collar jobs and we have these really elitist environmentalists meddling in this stuff, we’re not getting our permits to do this work and these people, the environmentalists, if they lose their job, so what? They can still pay their bills right? They can still keep their kids in their private schools, they can still fly their jets."  The loss of what would have been one of the largest industrial investments in Pennsylvania led to criticism from Ward and other politicians in the state, labor unions and business organizations regarding why the project could never secure permits. Some worried it will reduce the prospects of steelmaking in the area.