CNN
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Vice President Harris will push for U.S. Steel to remain domestically owned during a campaign rally in Pittsburgh on Monday, a campaign official said, raising her voice in a dispute over possible Japanese ownership of the iconic American brand.

Harris wanted to “emphasize her commitment to always standing by American steelworkers,” the official said.

It would be the first time that Harris has specifically addressed the planned sale of US Steel to Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest steelmaker.

The White House had previously spoken out against the controversial agreement. President Joe Biden said it was “important that we maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steelworkers.” Biden explained his position at an event in Pittsburgh, nicknamed “Steel City,” where he visited the headquarters of the United Steelworkers and called for higher tariffs to protect American manufacturing.

A week earlier, when Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a state visit, Kishida was asked by a reporter whether he believed U.S. politics influenced the $14 billion takeover offer. Kishida said, “Japan believes the U.S. government is implementing appropriate procedures based on the law” to evaluate the deal.

When Biden was asked the same question, he simply said that he stands with both American workers and American allies abroad, without elaborating on his other commitments.

For the deal to go through, it still needs approval from the Justice Department, which is responsible for enforcing antitrust laws, and from the normally more reticent but influential Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which assesses takeovers on national security grounds. That committee is made up of members of Biden’s Cabinet, including the secretaries of Treasury, Commerce, Defense, State and Homeland Security, and the attorney general.

It remains unclear to what extent Biden or Harris, in their official capacities, will work to block the agreement on national security grounds as part of the Treasury-led review.

Representatives of US Steel and Nippon Steel declined to comment on whether the companies had informed Vice President Harris about the deal.

Under the current terms of the deal, US Steel would keep its name and headquarters in Pittsburgh. Nippon has also pledged to provide an additional $1.3 billion to renovate two aging steel mills in Pennsylvania and Indiana.