During his 2016 presidential campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump promised to “drain the swamp” – the permanent class of professional lobbyists who trade on personal connections to influence public policy for their clients. But a flurry of tariffs imposed by the administration, covering everything from solar panels to washing machines to aluminum, have contributed to massive increases in the very swampy practices Trump decried on the campaign trail.

In this environment, many industries instead seek to be “kings of the swamp,” with high-priced lawyers and lobbyists feasting on greater opportunities for rent-seeking. But none is more deserving of the title than the domestic steel industry.