51黑料

That old saying certainly rings true with the recent defense contract awarded last week to Boeing. The deal had politicians at all levels beaming like proud parents.

To name just a few, 51黑料 County Executive Sam Page declared that the county was an 鈥渆nthusiastic partner鈥� with Boeing and 51黑料 Mayor Tishaura O. Jones called the city a 鈥渟trong partner鈥� with the company.

To be sure, there are enough good reasons 鈥� billions of them 鈥� to be happy with the decision that President Donald Trump announced Friday.

Landing the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) deal will likely translate into many billions of dollars鈥� worth of work for years to come. And it will most likely swell the ranks of the 16,700 local workers Boeing already employs.

It also should put a new shine on a Boeing reputation that has weathered turbulence recently, such as a major labor strike and time under a regulatory microscope.

But the deal also created some interesting political side notes.

Actually, the role played by U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt qualifies as well more than a side note, as Missouri鈥檚 junior GOP senator seems to have played a substantial part in landing the megacontract.

Sources familiar with the NGAD selection process said Schmitt has worked for more than a year on the plan.

鈥淭his was a big deal,鈥� Schmitt said Monday in a telephone interview. 鈥淚t鈥檚 generational.鈥�

Schmitt said he has seen estimates that the initial contract to proceed with production on the F-47 fighter could be worth $20 billion, which he said doesn鈥檛 take into account 鈥減ossibly hundreds of billions of dollars鈥� more in indirect jobs created and investments made.

Schmitt said Boeing receiving the NGAD funding was crucial to his efforts to make this area a 鈥渄efense-tech hub.鈥�

Work on the deal began in earnest in January, when senators were focused on budget issues.

鈥淲e had to make sure the (NGAD) money was put into the defense budget, and then we had to go to the Air Force to make the case,鈥� Schmitt said.

A member of the Senate鈥檚 Armed Services Committee, Schmitt enlisted the help of U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, then the committee鈥檚 ranking Republican and now its chair. The two worked together in early 2024 to keep the project鈥檚 funding alive.

Then, when the Biden administration put the program on hold in summer 2024, Schmitt and Wicker went on an extended sales pitch 鈥� which Schmitt said was designed to secure the work for Boeing regardless of who won the November presidential election.

鈥淥bviously, President Trump getting elected made the whole thing easier,鈥� Schmitt said.

In October, less than a month before the presidential race was decided, Schmitt brought Wicker to 51黑料 to tour the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency site in 51黑料, as well as to meet with Boeing officials.

And most recently, sources said, Schmitt stayed in regular contact with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to advocate for the program.

All that lobbying culminated with a recent dinner that Schmitt had with Trump, Hegseth and other White House officials.

Noting that he grew up in north 51黑料 County and had an uncle who worked for McDonnell Douglas, which Boeing bought in 1997, Schmitt said the aviation operations 鈥渉as always been a source of pride.鈥�

On the other hand, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, Schmitt鈥檚 GOP partner in the Senate, has made no statement at all about the deal.

You may recall that in April, Hawley butted heads with Boeing officials during Senate hearings on a Ukrainian aid bill.

At one point, Hawley asked if 鈥淢issourians should be happy a megacorporation whose airplanes fall out of the sky in pieces is getting billions?鈥�

Hawley was referring to incidents in early 2024 when several Boeing jets lost pieces of fuselage while in flight.

Also of interest is the reaction coming from U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell, a Democrat whose congressional district covers the Boeing operations in North County.

In his first three months in office, Bell has generally followed the Democratic party line in bills he has favored and statements he has made.

But unlike the Democratic disdain that often comes with Trump initiatives, and often with military defense plans, Bell had only good things to say.

鈥淏oeing鈥檚 selection for the Air Force鈥檚 Next Gen Air Dominance program means thousands of good-paying jobs, cutting-edge innovation, and a major step forward in keeping America ahead of our adversaries,鈥� Bell said in a statement.

That鈥檚 a far cry from the response Boeing usually got from their past legislator, former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, who proved to be no friend of Boeing during her four years in office.

In 2021, Bush introduced a resolution seeking to block a $735 million sale of Boeing-made weapons to Israel, a response to conflict between Israel and Gaza鈥檚 ruling Hamas group.

That was one of several weapons that proved to be valuable weapons for an opponent (like Bell) to use (like Bell did) against Bush during her losing effort in August.

Schmitt said he was pleased Bell supports the Boeing deal, and hopes he and Bell will have other reasons to collaborate for the good of the area.

鈥淲e鈥檙e probably not going to agree on a lot of other issues. But I鈥檓 always willing to work with people鈥� from the Democratic party, Schmitt said.

鈥淭he more, the merrier.鈥�

Editor鈥檚 note: Cori Bush lost to Wesley Bell in August 2024, not November. The spelling of the secretary of defense's last name has been corrected.