A House resolution to repeal a Biden-era regulation on public lands in Minnesota passed Wednesday with a narrow 214-208 vote.
The legislation, sponsored by Republican Minnesota Rep. Pete Stauber, opens the door to mineral development on federal lands in the state, which boasts rich deposits of gold, silver, copper, nickel, and other precious metals. One Democrat, Maine Rep. Jared Golden, broke ranks to vote in favor of the repeal, while one Republican, Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon, voted against it. (RELATED: ‘Long-Awaited Victory’: Trump Admin Greenlights Massive Coal Mining Plan)
Proponents argued the repeal simply reverses the Biden administration’s “unilateral short-circuiting of the normal permitting process.” House Natural Resource Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, a Republican from Arkansas, said the resolution is “a step towards the mineral abundance that the American people deserve.” Stauber emphasized the importance of access to Minnesota’s deposits as part of broader national interests.
America’s national security depends on securing our own critical minerals—not relying on imports from adversaries. @RepJackBergman‘s latest op-ed nails it: we must unleash domestic production, including in Minnesota’s Iron Range, to power our military, energy grid, and future…
— Pete Stauber (@RepPeteStauber) January 21, 2026
Jason Hayes, director of energy and the environment at the America First Policy Institute, praised Stauber’s resolution and called the Biden administration’s ban on Minnesota mining “arbitrary and harmful.”
“While mining operations in other nations often ignore fundamental human rights and environmental protections, American mining companies follow some of the strictest human rights and environmental regulations on the planet,” he said in a statement to the Daily Caller. “This is a crucial move to encourage domestic mining, as producing these metals and minerals domestically is good for the environment, American workers, our economy, and national security.”
Democrats, however, opposed the measure, fearing it would open the land to development and erode environmental protections. Democratic California Rep. Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, highlighted the threat to the “Boundary Waters,” an area that draws millions of visitors, supports a major outdoor economy, and provides “pristine solace” in its forests.
Crushed waste rock from processing taconite rises above a forest in Eveleth, Minnesota, on October 1, 2018. – As one drives into Eveleth, it is hard to ignore the giant open-pit mines that emerge in the middle of majestic forests, a symbol of the debate dividing the region, protecting jobs versus protecting the environment. The vision of politics, the person, not the party, is predominant in Eveleth and across Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District, which has eschewed the strict party lines seen elsewhere in America. The single most important thing on voter’s mind? The economy. (Photo by Kerem YUCEL / AFP / GETTY IMAGES)
Huffman also argued against the repeal due to the potential risk of foreign influence over vital resources. He warned that granting mining access to groups with “longstanding interests in the area” might not serve national interests, specifically citing Twin Metals.
Huffman noted that this mining company, which has “close ties to China,” has “been lobbying for years to set up a mine just outside the wilderness area.”
“There’s no guarantee that the precious minerals produced from this mine would stay in the U.S. at all,” he said.
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