Trump touts nearly $10 billion defense investment at McCormick summit
Trump the president said Pennsylvania workers would fill more than 4,000 jobs building ships, submarines and weapons, headlined by a $2.5 billion General Dynamics submarine deal in Philadelphia.
WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald Trump announced nearly $10 billion in defense industrial investments in Pennsylvania on July 15, 2026.
Here is the full post on truthsocial: “TRUMP ANNOUNCES NEARLY $10 BILLION IN DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE INVESTMENTS IN PENNSYLVANIA AT MCCORMICK’S SUMMIT.”
Trump made the announcement at Sen. Dave McCormick’s Defense and Innovation Summit, held at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He joined McCormick, the first-term Republican senator elected in 2024, alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and defense, banking and technology executives for a roundtable, according to breitbart.com. The president said the money would create more than 4,000 jobs across the Commonwealth.
“This afternoon, we’re announcing nearly $10 billion of new investments in our defense industrial base, right here in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and these investments will create more than 4,000 jobs,” Trump said, according to breitbart.com.
The package centers on a $2.5 billion agreement between General Dynamics, one of the largest U.S. defense contractors, and Rhoades Industries to support Navy submarine construction in Philadelphia. New orders for the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel would support more than 2,000 jobs, with program costs valued at $1.5 billion, according to breitbart.com. Day & Zimmermann would receive a $2.3 billion contract for operations, maintenance and modernization at the Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada, delivered from its Philadelphia operations.
Workers and suppliers across Pennsylvania stand to benefit most directly, with shipbuilders, welders and machinists gaining thousands of positions tied to Navy vessels. For the average reader in the Keystone State, the pledged jobs could shape wages and employment in a manufacturing base that has thinned over decades. Defense contractors and their shareholders gain revenue certainty, while critics of rising military outlays warn of long-term budget strain.
President Donald J. Trump announces nearly $10 billion in defense industrial investments at the U.S.
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Trump said defense spending in Pennsylvania has climbed about 20 to 25 percent since he returned to the presidency, and he projected the total near $19 to $20 billion once Wednesday’s figures are counted. He said his administration had overseen $19.2 trillion in investments into the United States since January 2025, according to breitbart.com.
Has this happened before? This has happened before, and recently. Last July, Trump attended McCormick’s Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where officials announced roughly $92 billion in investment for Pennsylvania, according to breitbart.com. The new defense package is far smaller in dollar terms but concentrated in shipbuilding and munitions rather than energy and computing.
The next decisions rest with the Navy and the contracting agencies that must finalize and fund the submarine, vessel and depot contracts. A firm date for those awards and job counts has not been announced.
McCormick’s role in the summit isn’t the first time a Pennsylvania senator has leveraged defense spending to bind a state to Washington. Pennsylvania has anchored American arms production since the Frankford Arsenal opened in Philadelphia in 1816 and produced ammunition through two world wars before closing in 1977, according to britannica.com. The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard built and repaired warships for more than 200 years, including the battleship USS New Jersey, before the federal government shut its shipbuilding operations in 1996. Those closures cost the region tens of thousands of jobs, a reversal that later leaders such as McCormick have sought to undo with fresh federal contracts.
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Note: Chart generated on July 16, 2026 at 1:11 AM ET
Source: Zenger analysis
Note: Table generated by https://zenger.news on July 16, 2026 at 1:11 AM ET