President Donald Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill are poised to reverse a host of Biden-era protections and expand domestic mining, from Alaska to Minnesota. And green groups are girding for a fight.
“President Trump and his administration have the willpower to open up mining in the United States,” Republican Rep. Pete Stauber of Minnesota said during a recent interview.
Shortly after declaring an “energy emergency” on Monday, Trump inked a slew of executive orders, including language calling on federal agencies to use existing authorities to bolster mineral production and processing, weed out any policies that are burdening domestic mining, and build up the National Defense Stockpile.
Other parts of the orders aim to jump-start controversial mining projects, from advancing a halted mining road in Alaska to opening up large swaths of land in states like Minnesota that the Biden administration blocked.