Saudi Arabia has pledged to invest $1 trillion in the United States, targeting nuclear energy, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, and defense manufacturing industries. But the White House offered few specific details on where and how the money will be invested.President Donald Trump emphasized the impact of these investments in his remarks at a joint investment forum between the two nations. “Every new job and every new factory created by these announcements build up our middle class, and strengthens it, really strengthens the industrial backbone of America,” Trump said.The White House highlighted that the investment includes future purchases of American-made F-35 fighter jets, which are central to U.S. military power. Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35, stated that the jets’ supply chain supports nearly 300,000 jobs across 49 states and Puerto Rico. Additionally, the president formally designated Saudi Arabia as a “major non-NATO ally,” facilitating closer military and security cooperation, though it does not constitute a formal defense treaty.“President Trump is leveraging his close relationships with leaders across the world to strike better trade and investment deals for the American people,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said.During the Oval Office meeting Tuesday, the president invited a GE Vernova facility leader to describe how Saudi-linked energy and turbine demand are driving U.S. manufacturing growth. The worker said GE is investing more than $750 million in stateside production, tripling output at its Greenville, South Carolina, plant, installing over 500 new pieces of equipment, and supporting roughly 1,800 jobs.Despite the anecdote, many of the investments remain preliminary, with few specifics released about timelines, project locations, or how the funds will be allocated.This week’s visit also sparked criticism from 9/11 family groups, who demanded transparency due to the involvement of Saudi nationals in the attacks, and human rights groups, who cite the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. When questioned Tuesday about Khashoggi, Trump described him as “extremely controversial” and argued that the Crown Prince “knew nothing about it.”During his speech Wednesday, the president also addressed criticism over skilled-worker immigration. He defended the necessity of bringing in specialized foreign workers to build advanced technology like computer chips. He acknowledged the potential unpopularity of this stance with his base but stressed the importance of allowing companies to bring in experts to establish new facilities. Trump humorously noted that his “poll numbers just went down” for his comments but said they “went way up” with “smart people.”Check out more coverage from the Washington News Bureau: