Overview
- The Senate, which voted 50–49 Thursday, passed H.J. Res. 140 to overturn a federal mining moratorium near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters and sent the measure to President Trump.
- H.J. Res. 140 rescinds Public Land Order 7917, a 2023 decision that barred new mineral and geothermal leases on 225,504 acres of Superior National Forest upstream of the wilderness for 20 years.
- The Congressional Review Act lets Congress cancel recent agency actions with a simple majority and blocks a substantially similar rule later without new approval from Congress, which Democrats called an unprecedented use for a public land order.
- Backers such as Rep. Pete Stauber say lifting the ban restores jobs and strengthens U.S. access to copper, nickel, and cobalt, while opponents warn sulfide-ore mining can pollute the Boundary Waters watershed and harm tribal wild rice and tourism.
- Even if the ban is lifted, the Twin Metals project near Ely and Babbitt still needs years of state and federal permits and will likely face lawsuits, and Sen. Tina Smith’s overnight floor speeches underscored the organized resistance in Minnesota.