Men's Lifestyle August 20, 2026 0 Comments

Unlocking the Hidden Power Moves Behind Trump’s Critical-Mineral Deals—What They’re Not Telling You!

You know when you stumble upon a story that just grabs you—not because it’s headline news, but because it peels back the layers of something bigger? That’s exactly what happened when I read about Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s bold executive order to slam the brakes on copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters. This isn’t just another political chess move; it’s a snapshot of how environmental fights intersect with deep-seated power plays—and yes, plenty of grubby greed too. So, what happens when the iron fist of local authority clashes with federal overreach and corporate interests? And how does that ripple out to affect not only Minnesota’s pristine wilderness but the murkier waters of national mineral deals tangled in political drama? Strap in—because this isn’t your average four-minute read. LEARN MORE

4 min read

I was going to include this in our semi-regular weekly survey, but I decided it deserved a post of its own. From The Minnesota Star Tribune:

“As far as my administration is concerned, the fight for the future of the Boundary Waters is over,” Walz said, as he invoked his executive authority to block copper-nickel mining in the watershed flowing toward the wilderness. “The verdict is in. The decision is made. We will protect this place forever.” It was a surprising declaration from a governor who for years pointed to Minnesota’s laws and regulatory bureaucracy when issues arose over environmental protection around a major pipeline or mining project.

The rural congressman who arrived at the Capitol preaching “One Minnesota” and political consensus has become one of his party’s more prominent and combative national figures, more confident in wielding executive power and increasingly willing to put Minnesota in direct conflict with his Republican opponents, especially President Donald Trump. Walz cast Tuesday’s action partly in those terms, calling it a defense against an “unprecedented power grab by the federal government” after Republicans in Washington lifted restrictions on mining near the Boundary Waters.

Naturally, the local and national greed-heads went hog wild at this despoliation interruptus.

Mayors, legislators, and Congressman Pete Stauber stood together and condemned the order, saying the governor should let the permitting process play out.

Senator Rob Farnsworth called it a stab in the back, and that it seemed like a political move since it happened two months before the election and 7.5 years into Walz’s terms.

Some who visited the Eagle Mine in Michigan said that projects like this can be done safely, as they’ve been operating now for 12 years. They also didn’t like the surprise of it all, since it impacts our region.

As for what’s next, Stauber said it depends on the next governor. The order will be in effect for 90 days after Walz leaves office. He said rep. Lisa Demuth, a Republican, would rescind the order. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office sent a statement saying she has serious concerns about a project so close to the Boundary Waters.

Oh, Amy. Your lead in the polls extends into Saskatchewan. You can be stronger than a Susan Collins cosplay on this one.

Anyway, it is dawning on some folks that—within the empire of corruption spawned by the president and his, well, spawn—ripping minerals out of the ground, and ripping off the people who own that ground, plays a very important role in the general grift. From Politico:

Mineral deals struck by the Trump administration are rife with conflicts of interest, Democrats say. They point to ties between some companies and the business empires of Trump’s family and that of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who has helped shepherd many of the awards for the administration. Business leaders from Australia to Canada to the U.S. considering big financing packages—which in some cases total more than $1 billion—will need to decide whether they want to sign up for possible congressional scrutiny that could put their companies under a microscope.

“Some people are like, ‘Great, I want that, I want equity, I’m going to take the deal.’ Other people are saying, ‘I don’t want to be anywhere near the administration when the investigations come,’ ” said one defense industry lobbyist with mineral clients granted anonymity to speak freely. “There’s going to be a booming practice in investigations.”

From his lips, etc.

Already, there’s some squealing behind the walls of the captains’ cabins.

Lutnick and Trump have both said they stepped away from their family businesses, leaving them in the hands of their children. Representatives for Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. and for financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, run by Lutnick’s sons, have insisted there is no wrongdoing for Democrats to investigate

Oh, okay.

Trump earlier this month unveiled more than $3 billion in federal backing for a slew of projects at a State Department event with executives, adding to the some 160 deals that Trump said the administration has struck. The GOP megabill last year also provided the Defense Department’s Office of Strategic Capital with more than $100 billion in lending authority for critical mineral projects.

And things seem to be getting worse as the midterms approach with their potential to send the gravy train into a ravine.

The [Democratic] senators also called on agencies to preserve information around an ongoing deal for Kaz Resources, a company developing tungsten mines in Kazakhstan that is in line to receive at least $1.6 billion in financial support from the Export-Import Bank and U.S. International Development Finance Corp. The lawmakers cited New York Times reporting that Trump personally intervened by calling the president of Kazakhstan last September—who was then meeting with Lutnick in New York—to ensure a company then called Cove Kaz Capital Group could access the country’s tungsten deposits, the largest in the world. Trump’s sons, according to the newspaper, held a stake in another company that merged this spring with Cove Kaz to create Kaz Resources. “This may represent only the tip of the iceberg of the true scale of money flowing to interests connected to the Lutnick and Trump families,” the lawmakers wrote.

Actually, there is a remarkable amount of this iceberg above the surface. People have just declined to look.