Trump to visit Pa. Tuesday as the battle for control of Congress heats up in the Lehigh Valley

President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak Tuesday at a truck manufacturing facility in the Lehigh Valley, where a competitive race for Congress this year could determine which party controls the U.S. House for the second half of his term.

Trump will deliver remarks at Mack Trucks in Macungie in Lehigh County, according to the White House and two local members of Congress.

The visit will mark Trump’s fourth appearance in the state in his second term, and his first this year ahead of November’s high-stakes midterm elections.

Pennsylvania has four competitive U.S. House districts — the most of any state — and the Lehigh Valley-based 7th District is widely considered one of the most likely in the nation to flip from Republican to Democrat.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R., Lehigh) won the seat by 1 percentage point in 2024 as Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris statewide. Bob Brooks, a union leader and retired fireman who many prominent Democrats rallied behind before last month’s competitive primary, is facing Mackenzie in November.

The event Tuesday is scheduled as an official White House event, not a campaign event, though it could be the first of several trips by the president to the region and across Pennsylvania in the coming months.

“We’re looking forward to joining President Trump at Mack Trucks — one of our nation’s most iconic manufacturers,” Mackenzie wrote on social media.

“By investing in American workers and supporting domestic manufacturing, President Trump and Republicans in Congress have helped to put the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos at the forefront of our nation’s industrial revitalization. We appreciate President Trump coming to the region to help us highlight the work we’ve done together to support American workers, families, and industries.”

Mackenzie spoke Friday at a different Mack facility outside of Allentown to highlight part of a contract the company won from the U.S. Army last year to produce heavy dump trucks for the U.S. Army. The deal is worth up to $221.8 million, and Mack Defense said it received $47 million in the latest Department of Defense appropriations act.

A White House spokesperson said Trump will “stand with the American workers he has fought for” during his visit Tuesday.

“Under the President’s leadership, key domestic industries are being revitalized, historic investments are pouring back into communities like Macungie, and families across the country are securing new, high-paying jobs,” Liz Huston said. “Pennsylvanians placed their trust in President Trump, and he has delivered for them.”

Former President Joe Biden visited the same Mack facility in 2021 for a speech focused on supporting American manufacturing.

Trump last appeared in Pennsylvania in December for a rally at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, which is in a neighboring congressional district where another freshman Republican member of Congress is looking to fend off a Democratic challenger. Pitched as a speech to address voters’ concerns about affordability, the president repeatedly veered off script and called affordability concerns a “hoax.”

Some of the president’s former supporters in the region have since said they regretted voting for him, and national Democrats have made the area a priority as they look to win back a seat that Mackenzie flipped two years ago. Brooks, the Democratic nominee, has leaned into his working-class background while saying he understands voters’ financial concerns.

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, a Republican who represents another neighboring district, said Trump’s upcoming visit signals the president’s support for workers.

“Mack Trucks are a symbol of America’s manufacturing strength,” Meuser said on social media. “Their Lehigh Valley operations are a pillar of the local economy, employing Pennsylvania workers and driving the nation’s trucking industry. Thank you, President Trump, for supporting American workers.”