Minnesota Congressman Pete Stauber hopes GOP trifecta ushers in mining in northern Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS — President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to reverse President Biden's 20-year moratorium on new mining near Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on his first day in office.
While environmentalists are calling Trump's policies "a worst-case scenario," mining supporters say this is their biggest opportunity to expand mining in northern Minnesota.
In St. Cloud in July, then-candidate Trump made it clear his plans for mining in the state.
"We will end that ban in about, what do you think, about 10 minutes? I would say 10 to 15 minutes, right Pete?" Trump said. "And tonight I pledge to Minnesota miners that when I'm re-elected I will reverse the Biden-Harris attack on your way of life."
The "Pete" Trump called out is Minnesota Republican Congressman Pete Stauber, who for years has been introducing legislation to expand mining. Those bills have gone nowhere, but Stauber says 2025 — with the GOP trifecta — will be different.
"Look at the union jobs that will come out of it, look at the environmental and labor standards that will be attached to all legislation, look at the strategic national security interests that are part of this. This is a win, win, win," Stauber told WCCO's Esme Murphy.
He says there will be immediate change.
"There's going to be a change in attitude, there's going to be a change in investments, there's going to be a change in our thought process," Stauber said. "We are going to mine those critical minerals in the Duluth complex, Esme. It's the biggest untapped copper-nickel find in the world."
Stauber passionately disagrees that more mining will compromise the environment.
"We're going to do it right. We're going to follow the current laws, the environmental and labor standards," he said. "There will be no shortcuts."
While Stauber calls the expansion a "win, win, win," environmental groups are calling it a "lose, lose, lose" — with capital Ls. The executive director of the Friends of the Boundary Waters says this is a worst-case scenario right now, with pro-mining forces acquiring the power to actually get their agenda done.
Democratic politicians have called this out, warning that the environmental risk is overwhelming. They say they will fight this, but privately, many acknowledge the 2024 election changed everything. And after years of blocking these projects, they have very few options due to the GOP trifecta.
Stauber says this is the No. 1 issue he hears about from constituents. The Iron Range, formerly a Democratic stronghold, is now Republican — and largely because of this issue. The expansion of mining may have a lot of critics, but for Minnesotans, this is about jobs.
Opponents have successfully used the courts for years, but that is changing, too. In his first term as president, Trump appointed several judges who would likely support mining rights, and he created a conservative supermajority on the U.S. Supreme Court.