Where is Josh Shapiro on U.S. Steel?

Will Gov. Josh Shapiro finally raise a finger to save U.S. Steel?

That’s been the question ever since former President Joe Biden issued a reprieve to his earlier decision to block the iconic Pennsylvania company’s merger with Nippon Steel. Our governor should have supported this deal from the start. Instead, he’s failed Pennsylvania workers and must right that wrong while the window is still open.

Let’s be clear: This deal is essential to U.S. Steel’s success — if not its survival. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker has fallen on hard times, unable to compete with foreign companies and struggling to keep its steel mills open. Without Nippon Steel’s $13 billion purchase of U.S. Steel and agreement to invest $2.7 billion in new infrastructure, company leaders warned Pennsylvania mills would close and workers would be laid off. U.S. Steel could even move its headquarters out of Pennsylvania — to Ohio, no less — and perhaps even head into bankruptcy.

But Shapiro never came out in favor of the deal. Instead, he tried to have it both ways, pandering to voters and interest groups instead of leading. On the one hand, Shapiro initially said he didn’t love the deal because some out-of-state union executives didn’t like it. On the other hand, he criticized President Donald Trump’s opposition to the deal, saying it was out of step with local leaders who wanted the merger approved. These conflicting messages gave the impression Shapiro both opposed and supported the deal — which was probably the point.

A dead deal means dead Pennsylvania steel jobs.

Shapiro also claimed he talked with Biden about saving Pennsylvania steel jobs. But no matter which tack he took, he didn’t do right by his state. Either Biden didn’t listen to him before killing the deal on Jan. 3, or the governor supported the deal’s death. The result is the same: Pennsylvania is about to lose the very steel jobs Shapiro said he wanted to protect.

Now the governor is trying to clean up the mess he helped make. After Biden blocked the deal, Shapiro called on U.S. Steel “to uphold their commitments to Western Pennsylvania.” He also promised to “continue to engage with all interested parties” through dialogue. But talk is no substitute for action, and without Nippon Steel’s funding, U.S. Steel can’t maintain its operations in the state. A dead deal means dead Pennsylvania steel jobs.

Shapiro should finally realize that fact. Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel are now trying to save the deal with a lawsuit, which led Biden to delay the killing of the deal until June. Shapiro should support the lawsuit, but so far, he hasn’t. Instead, the governor criticized his political opponents instead of standing up for his state. In particular, he criticized Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward for “extracurricular chirping” when she fought for Pennsylvania jobs. Once again, he’s playing to interest groups instead of leading the way.

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Every time the governor does this, Pennsylvanians lose. Shapiro showed zero willingness to openly challenge the Biden administration’s ban on liquefied natural gas exports, which are critical to Pennsylvania’s economy. He’s also failed for two years to keep his promise to pass Lifeline Scholarships, which would give opportunities to low-income students trapped in low-performing schools. On both issues, Shapiro has substituted talk for the action that would benefit Pennsylvanians.

And Pennsylvanians need leadership more now than ever. Pittsburgh steelworkers have already lobbied Trump to reverse Biden’s deal blocking. What Trump does next is yet to be seen. The president initially opposed the deal because he was “totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company.” But Trump also recently announced major infrastructure projects with Japanese companies. As demonstrated with TikTok, the president can be impulsive and mercurial.

Pennsylvanians need leadership more now than ever.

Shapiro can help the president change his mind and tip the scale for Pennsylvania workers. But to do so, the governor must grow a spine and try to save the U.S. Steel-Nippon Steel deal.

Shapiro needs to get serious about governing, which includes reaching across the aisle and brokering deals. Now that the U.S. Steel deal is alive through June, he’ll have to work with President Trump, and the governor has said he wants to. But his recent attacks on State Sen. Ward paint a different picture.

If Shapiro doesn’t finally start leading, an iconic Pennsylvania company may die — and Pennsylvania will keep falling behind.

Nathan Benefield is the chief policy officer of the Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania’s free-market think tank.