Aides did not provide further details, but spokesman and future White House press secretary Sean Spicer intimated to reporters that the news will be about American jobs.

"The president-elect will have some news on the economic front later this afternoon that should be very positive for American workers," he said during the daily call with reporters.

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The news is expected around 4 p.m., Spicer said.

Trump has taken a more hands-on role than other presidents-elect, particularly in the hopes of delivering on his promise to bring jobs back to the U.S.

He announced a deal last month with Carrier to keep about 800 jobs at an Indiana furnace plant in the state instead of moving to Mexico and support another 300 jobs that weren't slated to leave the country.

Trump also stood onstage alongside Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris in Michigan while the executive promised new investment in the state.

Trump's opponents have panned that type of direct diplomacy, arguing that he is rewarding companies who threaten to leave and that the style is too small-scale to provide significant economic impacts.