President Donald Trumps push to expand U.S. mining and loosen Chinas global grip on critical minerals is colliding with his administrations defense in court of a Biden-era veto blocking Alaskas copper-rich , reviving scrutiny of Donald Trump Jr.s past opposition to the project.
The fight over Pebble Mine has spanned multiple administrations. Including in 2014, when the Obama Environmental Protection Agency concluded mining in Bristol Bays headwaters could damage the worlds largest sockeye salmon fishery. Bidens EPA vetoed the project in January 2023, prompting a lawsuit from Pebble and the state of Alaska. The Trump Department of Justice is now defending that veto in court.Â
The clash under the Trump administration has given Pebble supporters new ammunition to argue the White House is undercutting its own agenda as Trump races to secure domestic supplies of copper and other minerals critical to defense systems and advanced technology.
It also puts Trump Jr.s stance on Pebble Mine back in focus. In 2020, Trump Jr. publicly opposed the mine, joining GOP operative Nick Ayers, who served as chief of staff to former Vice President , in citing concerns about the local bay’s ecosystem.Â
“As a sportsman who has spent plenty of time in the area I agree 100% [with Ayers],” Trump Jr. wrote on X in August 2020. “The headwaters of Bristol Bay and the surrounding fishery are too unique and fragile to take any chances with. #PebbleMine.”
John Shively, CEO of Pebble Limited Partnership, the company hoping to develop the mine, contended that the Trump DOJ defending the Biden-era veto undermines the president’s agenda and would force the United States to cede copper and rare earth minerals to Beijing. Shively called the veto a “textbook example of D.C. bureaucrats imposing their will on Alaska.”
“It sort of conflicts a little bit with what President Trump is doing,” Shively told Fox News Digital in an interview. “I’ll give him credit. One of the things I like to say in life is, ‘If you don’t recognize a problem, you’re never going to solve it.’ Well, they have recognized we’re in serious trouble in getting minerals in this country and metals, and so it’s a little surprising they continued the EPA lawsuit.”
The White House and EPA did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story. The DOJ, which is representing EPA in court as it fights to keep the Biden-era veto in place, declined to comment and deferred to the EPA.
Since Trump took office, his administration has moved quickly to dismantle the environmental policies of his liberal predecessors and strengthen the United States’ mineral supply. Trump signed executive orders that declared a national emergency on critical minerals, directed federal agencies to fast-track permitting processes and expanded the government’s list of critical minerals by adding copper and nine others to the list.
Trump Jr., an avid outdoorsman, has not spoken to the president or anyone in the administration during this term about Pebble Mine, but he did weigh in on the matter with his father in the first term, a source close to Trump Jr. told Fox News Digital.Â
One industry source who spoke to Fox News Digital pointed to Trump Jr. and Ayers, attributing the Trump administration’s position on Pebble Mine in part to them. Ayers, like Trump Jr., openly opposed the mine in an X post in 2020.
“Like millions of conservationists and sportsmen, I am hoping @realDonaldTrump will direct @EPA to block the Pebble mine in Bristol Bay,” Ayers wrote on X. “A Canadian company will unnecessarily mine the USA’s greatest fishery at a severe cost. This should be stopped.” Pebble, which is spearheading the mine project, is a U.S. offshoot of Canadian company Northern Dynasty Minerals.
Ayers did not provide comment for this story.
The source close to Trump Jr. said that in the first administration, the president’s son told associates he was concerned, having
