Republicans Tap Rule-Killing Tool to Revive Mining in Minnesota

Republican lawmakers this week are reviving a years-long debate over a controversial mining project in Minnesota as the House plans to vote on a measure repealing Biden-era protections for a beloved wilderness area.

The disapproval resolution from Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) would scrap a rule related to Biden Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s withdrawal of more than 225,000 acres of federal lands from mineral and geothermal leasing in northeastern Minnesota until 2043. The withdrawal via secretarial order aimed to further delay a proposed copper-and-nickel mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Rainy River watershed.

Republicans have successfully used the ...