The Year of American Industry

When historians look back on 2026, they will call it the Year of American Industry.

Across the U.S., whether it’s the bayous of the South, to the steel yards of the Great Lakes, to the chip factories of the desert, President Trump’s pro-growth policies are making the era of Biden a distant memory.

Just this past week, the president’s economic agenda made headlines in Louisiana. Papers read “Louisiana economic boom tops $100 billion.” Governor Jeff Landry estimated the state would reach this goal by the end of the year, but instead it reached it by the end of the first quarter thanks to President Trump’s business leadership.

Louisiana Economic Development sets the tally at $92 billion for 2026, but underestimates Meta’s AI data center investment of $27 billion. For these projects, the state is expected to bring in at least 20,000 construction jobs, reaching similar stats to the last boom a decade ago. This time, Louisiana is seeing statewide investments that will help communities from the swamps of New Orleans to the riverbanks of Shreveport, in industries like data centers, chip production, and steel manufacturing.

Along the Gulf Coast, Woodside Energy approved a $17.5 billion liquified natural gas project that is projected to open in 2029. It is the first PNG project approved under Trump’s leadership, expected to boost Louisiana’s current natural gas exports, representing 61% of the share nationally.

In Richland Parish, Meta is building a multi-billion dollar AI data center, expecting to create more than 1,500 jobs. In Donaldsonville, Hyundai steel is creating 1,300 high-paying jobs for the Capital Region.

We’re seeing similar results in places like Illinois, where the Granite City Works plant is reopening its steel mill outside eastern St. Louis. The location will reopen this year, bringing back our industrial capacity to the Midwest.

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is bringing an additional $100 million to the American southwest, promising three new fabrication plants, two packaging facilities, and a research and development center all in Phoenix, Arizona.

Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, we’ve seen record-breaking job growth across the country. In January alone, the country is adding jobs, while federal government employment is at its lowest since 1966. The president has proven that reshoring jobs isn’t just possible, but creating new private-sector manufacturing industries is as well.

All of this is made possible by cutting red tape that’s been holding back our country for years. The president reopened hundreds of millions of acres for oil, gas, and coal production, and has already approved 6,000 drilling applications. He’s committed $625 million to clean coal, and helped bring in billions worth of investments in nuclear energy. In total, the EPA has rescinded more than $1.3 trillion in regulatory costs so far, and we’re just getting started.

When the U.S. breaks past regulatory buildup, there are no limits to what Americans workers can achieve. 2026 is off to a racing start, but the best is yet to come for American industry.