The Senate on Thursday voted 50-49 to repeal a Biden-era moratorium that blocked mining near Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, sending the measure to President Donald Trump's desk. Trump is expected to sign it.
The narrow vote caps a months-long push by Republicans to reverse what they call federal overreach that locked away domestic mineral resources in northeastern Minnesota. Two GOP senators, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine, sided with Democrats in opposing the repeal. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri did not vote.
The House had already approved the measure, sponsored by Rep. Pete Stauber, a Minnesota Republican. With both chambers now on record, only a presidential signature stands between the resolution and the end of a 20-year mining moratorium covering roughly 400 square miles of the Superior National Forest, as AP News reported.
In 2023, the Biden administration blocked Twin Metals Minnesota from operating in the Boundary Waters region. Twin Metals, a subsidiary of Chile-based Antofagasta Minerals, had sought to pursue copper, nickel, and other mineral mining in the area.
Republicans advanced the repeal using the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to undo regulations finalized within the previous 60 legislative days. The legal argument hinged on a procedural detail: the mining restrictions were never formally submitted to Congress until the Trump administration took office, Newsmax reported, citing a press release from Stauber.
That timing gave Republicans a window. And they used it.
Stauber framed the ban as a direct cost to Minnesota workers and a gift to foreign adversaries. The Washington Times reported that Stauber argued the ban cost Minnesota jobs and put the country's mineral security at risk.
"It's better to mine in Minnesota than deal with China or Russia for key minerals."
That was Stauber's case in a sentence. And for the 50 senators who voted yes, it was persuasive enough.
Opponents of the repeal centered their argument on the Boundary Waters itself, a vast stretch of forest and interconnected lakes in northeastern Minnesota known for drawing outdoor enthusiasts for boating, fishing, and hiking. Democrats and environmental groups warned that copper-nickel mining could threaten the wilderness watershed and set a precedent for weakening protections on public lands.
Minnesota Democratic Sen. Tina Smith put it bluntly:
"You can support mining, but that does not mean you support every mine in every place."
That framing, that Republicans were recklessly green-lighting a mine in the wrong location, carried the day for Democrats in the chamber debate. But it did not carry the vote. The Senate's recent pattern of razor-thin partisan clashes held again, with the majority prevailing by a single vote.
Even with Trump's expected signature, the Twin Metals project faces a long road. The resolution lifts the federal moratorium, but the mine would still require federal lease action, multiple state permits, and could face court challenges. Environmental groups have signaled they intend to fight.
That reality matters. Lifting a ban is not the same as approving a mine. What the resolution does is remove a blanket prohibition that Republicans say the Biden administration imposed without proper congressional review, and restore the possibility that the permitting process can proceed on its merits.
For supporters, the distinction between "you can't mine here, period" and "apply for a permit and we'll evaluate it" is the whole point. The Biden moratorium foreclosed the question. The repeal reopens it.
The Boundary Waters vote did not happen in isolation. The Trump administration last week moved separately to scale back rules governing the disposal of coal ash. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed loosening standards for groundwater monitoring and protection at some coal ash sites and rolling back requirements that entire coal plant properties be cleaned up instead of only the areas where ash was dumped. The proposal would also make it easier for coal ash to be reused for other purposes.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin described the coal ash proposal as reflecting the agency's "commitment to restoring American energy dominance, strengthening cooperative federalism, and accommodating unique circumstances at certain [coal] facilities."
Taken together, the mining repeal and the coal ash rollback signal a clear direction: the administration and its congressional allies are moving to strip away layers of regulation they view as obstacles to domestic resource production. Whether voters reward or punish that approach will shape upcoming Senate races where energy policy and environmental regulation are already live issues.
The Congressional Review Act is a blunt instrument. It lets a simple majority in both chambers wipe out a regulation, no filibuster, no 60-vote threshold, no extended floor debate. The catch is the clock: Congress can only use it against rules finalized within the previous 60 legislative days.
Republicans' argument that the Biden-era mining restrictions were never formally submitted to Congress until the Trump administration gave them a procedural opening that Democrats contested but could not block. It is the kind of inside-baseball maneuver that rarely makes headlines but can reshape policy for decades.
The tool has seen increasing use in recent years as both parties recognize its power. And in a Senate where major legislation often passes by the slimmest margins, the CRA's simple-majority requirement is a significant advantage for whichever party holds the chamber.
Trump's signature will formalize the repeal. Twin Metals will then need to navigate a permitting process that involves multiple federal and state agencies. Court challenges are likely. Environmental groups have made clear they will not concede the fight simply because the moratorium is gone.
Meanwhile, Democrats who opposed the measure will look to use the vote in campaign messaging, casting Republicans as willing to sacrifice a treasured wilderness for corporate mining interests. Republicans will counter that the real choice was between American mineral independence and continued reliance on adversaries like China and Russia.
The two GOP defections, Tillis and Collins, suggest the issue is not perfectly comfortable for every Republican. But the final tally tells the story. The Democratic minority could not hold the line, and the resolution is headed to the president's desk.
When Washington tells Americans they can't mine their own minerals on their own land while importing the same materials from Beijing and Moscow, don't be surprised when voters send people to fix it.
