Posted on August 5, 2025
By: Joe Gould
Sen. Todd Young says momentum is building behind his bipartisan SHIPS for America Act — even as congressional bandwidth narrows and the White House’s shipbuilding shop undergoes a major overhaul.
First in Morning D: Young, in an exclusive interview with your anchor, said support for the commercial shipbuilding bill is growing inside both the administration and Congress. He pointed to recent conversations with White House budget director Russ Vought, whotook over President Donald Trump’s shipbuilding initiative after the White House’s maritime policy team moved in amid a bigger National Security Council shakeup.
“Within OMB, there is momentum,” Young said. “I’ve had direct conversations with Russ Vought recently, and he’s expressed an interest in the topic to me. I know through his team over at OMB that there’s real enthusiasm behind this restoring American maritime dominance push.”
Ships Act 101: The SHIPS Act, co-led by Young and Sen. Mark Kelly, would boost America’s commercial shipbuilding base by streamlining Coast Guard regulations, creating tax credits for shipyard upgrades, and setting a national target of 250 U.S.-built merchant ships over the next decade. While it doesn’t touch Navy programs directly, Young argues the bill strengthens the industrial base upon which military and civilian vessels depend.
The legislation was recently reintroduced as two separate bills — one focused on policy provisions, the other on tax measures — to smooth the referral process and avoid jurisdictional snags in Congress. Young said the separation is a tactical move to keep both pieces moving, and that’s still the strategy.
The SHIPS Act offers a sweeping vision for revitalizing a neglected sector, but it’s a strategy that’s largely untested in modern times. Experts have said it would take decades of sustained investment.
Flipping the ship: The effort to boost domestic shipbuilding has gained traction in recent months. Trump launched the White House office on maritime policy, signed a shipbuilding executive order in April and sent Young multiple texts in support of the legislation.
But the White House’s shipbuilding team’s collapse this summer — and the shift in its responsibilities to OMB — has stoked concerns among shipbuilding advocates about whether the administration is still prioritizing the issue. Former NSC staffers have exited, and a top internal advocate, former national security adviser Mike Waltz, was nominated to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Young said he initially had “some questions, maybe even concerns” about the transition, but now he views OMB’s stewardship as a strategic opportunity. “One of the primary locuses of influence and power within the administration has been OMB, so arguably, it’s better to have it at OMB,” he said. “Clearly, the president looks to Russ Vought and OMB for a lot of guidance.”
The shift, he said, may even be positive. “It’s notable that one of the things, to put it indelicately, that was spared from the National Security Council offices was this … maritime initiative. That suggests the importance of this initiative to the president.”
Legislative vehicle: Young is considering a floor amendment to attach SHIPS Act language to the NDAA — but only if he can coordinate closely with Kelly, leadership and the administration. “I’m radically pragmatic when it comes to finding vehicles,” he said.
Young said the focus is on winning over colleagues. “We keep racking up endorsers,” he said. “Leadership is looking around for bipartisan initiatives they can move. We want to be on that list.”
