Trump to Announce $54 Billion South Korean Investment in Alaska Gas

President Donald Trump is expected to announce on Wednesday that South Korea will invest roughly $54 billion in a project to export natural gas from Alaska, a proposal long championed by Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who faces a competitive reelection contest in the state.

The White House confirmed the announcement on Wednesday. Bloomberg reported it first.

The investment would mark the second time this week that Trump has highlighted foreign investment made possible by his administration's trade policy in states where Republican Senate candidates are running tight campaigns. On Monday, in the Oval Office, he announced plans for a massive steel plant in Iowa.

The Alaska money comes from pledges made under a 2025 trade deal with South Korea. That agreement included promises of $350 billion in U.S. investments in exchange for lower U.S. tariffs on South Korean cars, auto parts and other products.

Sullivan, a persistent advocate for the Alaska natural gas project who has encouraged South Korean investment, is a two-term senator facing a challenge from Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman.

The project consists of an 807-mile (1,300-kilometer) natural gas pipeline connecting Alaska's North Slope to a liquefied natural gas export terminal in southern Alaska, according to the White House. The administration said it will eventually reduce energy costs for the state's residents by providing a reliable and secure supply.

Democrats target Alaska and Iowa

Trump's Monday announcement covered a $15 billion steel plant to be built in Iowa by a Minnesota company owned by an Indian industrial conglomerate. In that state, Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson is in a close U.S. Senate contest with Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek for the seat being vacated by retiring two-term Republican Joni Ernst. Hinson spoke in the Oval Office during the announcement.

Alaska and Iowa, where Trump won comfortably each time he has run for president, are among the states where Democrats are targeting Republican-held Senate seats in the 2026 midterm elections, now less than five weeks away. Democrats need a net gain of four seats in the 100-member Senate to overtake the Republican majority.

Voters worry about fuel costs

The announcements come as voters express concern about near-record fuel prices linked to the unresolved war with Iran. Congressional Republicans also face an electorate dissatisfied with Trump's handling of the economy.

A late-July poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found only about one-third of Americans approved of Trump's handling of the economy, and about 7 in 10 described the economy as poor.

With under five weeks until the midterms, the Alaska and Iowa announcements give Republican incumbents concrete investment figures to campaign on. Whether voters translate billions in promised foreign capital into economic relief at the pump will help decide control of the Senate.