YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno was back in the Mahoning Valley Monday, touring City Machine Technologies and speaking one-on-one with workers. He got a firsthand look at the kind of manufacturing work he says should be the backbone of America's economy, much like the old GM Lordstown plant was back in the day.

Moreno says he's hopeful new ownership at the now former Foxconn plant - will bring those jobs back.

"We need to have the workers restored there," Moreno said. "That factory should never have closed. As you know, that's a top been a top priority. We may get the entirety of that facility back up and running. Foxconn made a lot of promises, of which they kept, very little of them. About only a quarter of the facility is occupied. I'm always the optimist, so I'm going to assume it's because they want to come hire more people and produce economic activity there, but let's see."

Moreno also commented on efforts to reopen two Trumbull County hospitals, Insight Trumbull and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital, which were abruptly shut down this spring by Insight Health, following a financial unraveling involving former operator Steward Health Care.

"I think you'll see some movement on the Trumbull County hospitals in terms of that reopening," Moreno said. "That's really, really good news. Big props to Attorney General Dave Yost and to the local commissioners for getting that back up and running. We're proud to have worked with them to get that happening, and hopefully we'll see a big announcement in the next few days."

Moreno credited a collaborative effort, mentioning his own office, local officials, and even former TV doctor-turned-health policy advisor Dr. Mehmet Oz, who Moreno says helped secure a new CMS provider number for Insight, clearing a major hurdle.

"It turns out that the big bad actor there was Steward health, and now that they're out of the picture, and we were able to work with Dr Oz over at CMS to get Insight their own number so that Steward and the attorneys and consultants for Steward weren't hijacking that money for providing patient care."

We also asked Moreno about U.S. employment numbers. He cited a significant rise in jobs for native-born Americans, claiming 1.8 million more jobs this year for U.S. born workers and 1.5 million fewer for foreign-born workers. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, those numbers reflect a trend seen in the Household Survey from January to June 2025, though experts say month-to-month swings in these categories often reflect temporary market shifts and should be interpreted with caution.

Moreno also said real wages are improving.

On the topic of Medicaid, Moreno discussed the work requirements in President Trump's sweeping policy platform.

"Look, it's very simple. You got to work. You can't sit home and do nothing. Now, I'm not talking about pregnant women or disabled or children, of course, or seniors, talking about able bodied adults. And by the way, the work requirement doesn't kick in for a year and a half to give the systems and the communities time to adapt. And the work requirement is four hours, 1-2-3-4, hours a day to either work, go to school or volunteer, that's a low lift for most people. We got to get people back into the workforce. And I think we're that we're doing something that most Americans expect us to do."

Moreno ended his visit on a hopeful note saying the Valley is poised to benefit from what he called a coming "golden era."

"We've got almost $10 trillion with a T in investment coming to this country," Moreno said "So, places like the Valley that have been ignored for so long, where we took all these jobs and shipped them overseas, they're coming back in a big way, and we're going to see a golden era in America, and especially in the Valley, and I'm very, very happy to even play a tiny role in making that happen."