Trump Administration Transmits Biden's Mining Ban to Congress, Paving Way for Overturn

WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, Congressman Pete Stauber issued the following statement regarding the Trump Administration’s transmittal of Public Land Order (PLO) 7917 to Congress:

“I commend the Trump Administration for correcting the Biden Administration’s failure to properly notify Congress of this mineral withdrawal in the Superior National Forest. Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the Secretary of the Interior is required to notify Congress of such a withdrawal. Now that it has been properly submitted to Congress under President Trump’s leadership, I plan to introduce a resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), to disapprove of and nullify the Biden Administration’s illegal mineral withdrawal that banned mining in Northern Minnesota, locking up the Duluth Complex. This dangerous and illegal mining ban was thrust upon my constituents and our way of life in Northern Minnesota and put our nation’s mineral security in jeopardy. Northern Minnesota mined the iron ore the won this nation two World Wars and we will mine the copper, nickel, and other critical minerals that will allow the United States to compete and win in the 21st Century.”

Background: In January 2023, the Department of the Interior, at the direction of former President Joe Biden and former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, issued Public Land Order (PLO) 7917, instituting a 20-year mineral withdrawal covering 225,504 acres in the Superior National Forest in Northern Minnesota. This mineral withdrawal banned mining and other responsible resource extraction in a strategically significant area of the Duluth Complex, which is the largest untapped copper-nickel deposit in the world. Under the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the Department of the Interior is required to notify Congress of public land orders impacting an excess of 5,000 acres. The Biden Administration failed to properly transmit PLO 7917 to Congress in January 2023.

Under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), Congress has the authority to review and disapprove of federal actions within 60 Senate session days of the action’s submission to Congress. If a CRA joint resolution of disapproval addressing a federal action is passed by both chambers and signed by the President, it is nullified and ceases to have effect (or is treated as never having taken effect). Additionally, under the CRA’s substantially similar provision, when a federal action is successfully disapproved of by Congress, the executive branch is prohibited from taking a substantially similar action in the future. PLO 7917 is now eligible for Congressional review under the CRA.

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