Walz defies Trump on key minerals as GOP warns China stands to benefit

By Fox News · Fox News

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is catching heat for defying President Donald Trump on a key energy policy. The progressive Midwestern leader issued an executive order on Tuesday blocking mining permits and leases near a swath of land in northeast Minnesota called the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a significant portion of which is under federal jurisdiction. That's despite President Donald Trump signing legislation in April that reversed a Biden administration-era order blocking new mining leases near the Boundary Waters for a period of 20 years. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the highest-ranking Minnesotan in Congress, called Walz's move "stupid" and "dangerous." TRUMP'S AMBITIOUS ENERGY BET COULD BE A WINNING HAND AS THE WORLD BURNS MORE OIL, GAS THAN EVER "This lame duck loser is trying to make us more energy and mineral-dependent on our adversaries," Emmer told Fox News Digital. MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL WILL HAUNT FLANAGAN IN HIGH-STAKES SENATE RACE, TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN WARNS He said the order would "harm Minnesota, good union jobs in northern Minnesota," and "put our national defense more at risk with our enemies, adversaries like Communist China." The legislation, which passed the House and Senate before getting to Trump's desk, was led by Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn. Walz's order focuses on the mining of metals like copper and nickel, which have a variety of uses including boat components, electric vehicle components, military equipment, and commercial electronics. TRUMP GETS MAJOR WIN AGAINST CHINA IN AFRICAN RARE EARTH MINERALS RACE Northeastern Minnesota is home to the largest known untapped source of nickel and copper in North America, called the Duluth Complex. Emmer argued that a failure to tap into those resources would put the U.S. at a disadvantage to China's metal mining industry . Mining is already banned inside the Boundary Waters, but environmental groups who hailed Walz's order have warned that mining in the protected lands outside its…