Congressional Republicans have overturned Biden-era restrictions on mining and drilling across three Western states, clearing the way for a controversial 211-mile road through Alaska’s wilderness. The Senate voted 50-46 Thursday to repeal land management plans affecting millions of acres in Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota, advancing President Trump’s push for expanded energy development on public lands.
Congressional Review Act Enables Swift Reversal
The timing of Biden’s eleventh-hour regulations made them vulnerable to the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn recently finalized rules with simple majority votes. The House approved the repeals last month, and President Trump is expected to sign them into law immediately. This legislative maneuver effectively nullifies environmental protections that the Biden administration implemented during its final weeks.
Republican lawmakers argued the reversals were necessary to correct federal overreach. “This is putting an end to disastrous Biden-era regulations that put our resource economy on life support,” said Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana. The Congressional Review Act resolutions require only majority support in each chamber and take effect upon presidential signature, making them powerful tools for reversing recent administrative actions.
Ambler Road Project Revived for Critical Minerals
The repeal clears the path for the Ambler Road project, a 211-mile industrial corridor that would enable mining of copper, cobalt, gold and other critical minerals in northwest Alaska. President Trump ordered approval of the road earlier this week, stating it would “unlock access to copper, cobalt and other critical minerals that the United States needs to compete with China.” The Bureau of Land Management’s environmental analysis had previously determined the project would threaten caribou herds and harm Alaska Native communities that depend on subsistence hunting.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the United States imports 76% of its cobalt and relies entirely on imports for this essential battery metal. The Ambler Mining District contains an estimated 6.5 billion pounds of copper and 80 million pounds of cobalt. Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska called the Biden-era restrictions “a clear case of federal overreach that locks up Alaska’s lands, ignores Alaska Native voices and blocks access to critical energy, gravel and mineral resources.”
Powder River Basin Coal Leases Reopened
The Republican legislation also reverses a Biden administration ban on new coal mining leases in the Powder River Basin, the nation’s most productive coal region spanning Montana and Wyoming. On Monday, the Trump administration held the largest coal lease sale in over a decade, offering 167.5 million tons of coal. However, the sale attracted only a single bid of $186,000 from Navajo Transitional Energy Co., amounting to approximately one-tenth of a cent per ton.
Interior Department spokesperson Aubrie Spady blamed what she called “a decades long war on coal” by Democratic administrations for the lackluster industry response. The dirt-cheap valuation reflects declining market interest in coal despite political support. Many utilities have shifted to cheaper natural gas and renewable energy sources, with coal’s share of U.S. electricity generation falling from 50% in 2000 to under 20% today.
Environmental and Economic Implications
Environmental groups condemned the congressional action as a massive giveaway to extractive industries. “Republicans are unleashing a wholesale assault on America’s public lands,” said Ashley Nunes, public lands specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Using the Congressional Review Act to erase land management plans will sow chaos across the country and turn our most cherished places into playgrounds for coal barons and industry polluters.”
Democrats argued that prioritizing fossil fuels over renewable energy could drive up costs for consumers. “We are seeing dramatic increases in the price of energy for American consumers and businesses and the slashing of American jobs, so that Donald Trump can give an easy pass to the fossil fuel industry,” said Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia. The administration recently canceled almost $8 billion in grants for clean energy projects, further shifting the nation’s energy policy direction.
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