Long before he was selected as former President Donald Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) gained fame as the author of a best-seller book about his hardscrabble upbringing in America's Rust Belt.

Now a new report indicates that a steel factory that plays a central role in Vance's story is set to receive a $500 million federal grant from President Joe Biden's administration, according to Politico.

Rather ironically, though, the report reveals how Biden's gift to the factory that will undoubtedly bolster Vance's hometown may not help Democrats politically and, instead, could actually benefit the Republican ticket.

Steel plant central to Vance's family's success

In his best-selling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," Sen. Vance wrote about the steel plant in Middletown, Ohio that employed his grandfather and helped the family rise up from poverty to the middle class.

Per Politico, the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant currently employs around 2,500 workers and indirectly supports around 1,500 workers in related businesses that service the plant, not to mention hundreds more who service those workers with bars, restaurants, retail stores, and other shops.

Yet, like so many other small towns in the Rust Belt states that are centered around manufacturing plants, Middletown and the 125-year-old steel plant have struggled over the years as the economy has ebbed and flowed -- the plant once employed more than 7,000 workers and indirectly supported thousands more -- and there were legitimate fears that the plant might eventually close, which would prove devastating to the town and its residents.

Biden's grant to the Middletown steel plant

Enter President Biden and his so-called Inflation Reduction Act -- which did nothing of the sort -- and a green energy grant for $500 million that was awarded to the Middletown steel plant earlier this year, according to Politico.

That grant, paired with a larger investment from the company that owns the plant, is intended to replace the outdated coal-fired furnace with a new one that uses hydrogen and natural gas, which will reportedly result in a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution and keep the plant open for the foreseeable future.

The project, which has not yet been started, is estimated to create around 200 permanent new jobs and upwards of 1,200 temporary construction jobs, not to mention provide some spillover into the surrounding community with additional new jobs in the various support industries.

One might think that the fortunate turn of events for the steel plant and Middletown would be a boon to President Biden, or more accurately Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the Democratic nominee instead of him, given the administration's role in the impending revitalization of the town.

Biden and Democrats not getting credit for infrastructure projects

Yet, per the Politico story, the Biden-Harris administration isn't really getting much credit for the grant, and in fact, some of the workers and residents have even expressed their beliefs that Sen. Vance and former President Trump are responsible for what is about to occur.

For example, a plant employee named Tyler Kirby was asked about the potential impact of the federal grant from the incumbent president but replied that it "doesn’t really change anything" and revealed that he still intended to vote for Trump, as he added, "I don’t really look for the government to do anything for you. It’s more like just stay out of my way."

Part of the problem for Biden here, according to separate polling from Politico, is that the administration has done a terrible job of informing Americans about the details of their legislative accomplishments, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, meaning most people are simply unfamiliar with the laws.

Those problems have been compounded by delayed construction projects, which means people aren't seeing the immediate benefits of the laws, nor has the administration been able to overcome the nation's partisan divide, which has led to the aforementioned irony of nearly half of the nation crediting Trump and Republicans for the infrastructure gains that actually occurred on Biden's watch but aren't benefiting Democrats as anticipated.