Congress just handed a Chilean mining company with ties to China the keys to America’s most visited wilderness, and Trump is expected to seal the deal

The Senate voted 50-49 to repeal Biden-era protections for Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, sending the measure to President Trump’s desk for his expected signature. As first highlighted by The Hill, the bill has already cleared the House of Representatives, marking a significant rollback of federal environmental policy. Two Republican senators, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine, broke with their party and voted against the repeal. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri did not cast a vote.

The vote effectively overturns a 20-year mineral withdrawal enacted in 2023 by the US Department of the Interior, known as Public Land Order 7917. That order protected 225,378 acres of public lands within the Boundary Waters watershed from sulfide-ore copper-nickel mining. The Boundary Waters, a remote forest in northeastern Minnesota, is one of the country’s most visited Wilderness Areas, drawing visitors for boating, hiking, and fishing across hundreds of freshwater lakes.

At the center of the dispute is Twin Metals, a subsidiary of Chilean mining giant Antofagasta, which has sought to develop a sulfide-ore copper-nickel mine directly upstream of the Boundary Waters. The Biden administration blocked Twin Metals from proceeding in 2023. The company’s plans have now been revived following the Senate vote, as detailed by Earthjustice.

The Congressional Review Act’s use here is legally contested

Congress acted through the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to repeal regulations finalized within the previous 60 legislative days. The original decision to withdraw mineral rights in the Boundary Waters area occurred more than 60 legislative days ago, raising legal questions about whether the CRA applies. House sponsor Rep. Pete Stauber, a Republican from Minnesota, claimed the withdrawal was not properly transmitted to Congress until the Trump administration took office, which his office argued opened the door for CRA use.

This is not the first time Republicans have deployed the CRA in contested ways, amid broader Trump administration efforts to roll back federal oversight, including pushing corporate-friendly trade policies over environmental and foreign-entity concerns. A similar approach was used to target California’s clean car standards. Blaine Miller-McFeeley, Senior Legislative Representative for Earthjustice, stated: “If and when President Trump signs this indefensible bill, it will mark the first time a mineral withdrawal was killed by the Congressional Review Act. More and more, corporate polluters and their friends in Congress are using this arcane law to force through deeply unpopular policies that sell out our public lands.”

The US Forest Service conducted an environmental assessment in 2022 and concluded that sulfide-ore copper mining near the Boundary Waters would cause irreversible harm, extending downstream to Voyageurs National Park. The assessment drew 675,000 public comments, with over 95 percent favoring protection of the Boundary Waters and Voyageurs from that type of mining.

The legal history around Twin Metals is extensive. The first Trump administration reinstated two mining leases for the company, which prompted a lawsuit by Earthjustice on behalf of The Wilderness Society, the Izaak Walton League of America, and the Center for Biological Diversity. When the Biden administration canceled those leases, Twin Metals sued, and Earthjustice successfully defended the cancellation. The second Trump administration signaled its intent to help Twin Metals again when DOI Deputy Secretary Katherine MacGregor signed a memo reversing a 2022 legal opinion that had invalidated the leases, a move that came around the same time the administration was also pursuing aggressive action on Federal Reserve leadership.

Julie Goodwin, Senior Attorney at Earthjustice, said: “The Boundary Waters belong to everyone. They should be protected and enjoyed by all, not jeopardized to benefit a wealthy foreign company. Congressmembers who voted to allow mining on the doorstep of the Boundary Waters have betrayed the millions of Americans who treasure this unparalleled wilderness, and they did so using a backdoor maneuver that’s unprecedented and legally questionable.” Earthjustice stated that every legal option remains on the table to preserve the area.