Sen. Cruz, new TX shipbuilder celebrate historic Coast Guard investment in One Big Beautiful Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump announced a landmark deal to acquire four Finnish icebreakers and construct an additional seven vessels in the United States, including three to be built by Davie Defense in Galveston, Texas.  Sen. Ted Cruz, Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, championed this historic investment in icebreakers in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The deal – which represents the largest increase in U.S. shipbuilding capacity in decades – is projected to generate a statewide economic impact of $9 billion and directly support over 7,000 skilled jobs in Texas.

“As part of the Commerce Committee’s title of One Big Beautiful Bill, I fought to secure a historic investment in the Coast Guard, including funding for new Arctic Security Cutter icebreakers that can stand up to growing Chinese and Russian aggression,” said Sen. Cruz. “This deal will deliver world-class cutters and create thousands of good-paying jobs for our great state.”

Sen. Cruz has stressed the critical national security importance of building U.S. icebreakers capable of operating in the Arctic to keep pace with adversaries like China and Russia. In the One Big Beautiful Bill, Cruz successfully fought to obtain $8.6 billion of funding for icebreakers.

This deal will expand American shipbuilding capacity, reduce the risk of the Coast Guard relying on a single shipbuilder for over 90% of icebreaker construction work, and ensure America’s security and maritime resilience.

James Davies, co-owner and CEO of Davie Shipbuilding, said: “Senator Cruz fought hard to bring icebreaker construction back to the United States in a big way – and he won. His leadership and tenacity have cleared the way for major investments, thousands of American jobs, and a new era of U.S. shipbuilding dominance.”

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