Trump Issues Memo Streamlining Critical Mineral Funding, Permitting

President Donald Trump on June 30 signed a memorandum that the White House in a fact sheet said “fosters interagency coordination” in energy funding for critical mineral projects “to better prioritize the use of taxpayer funds and end wasteful duplicative processes.”

The “Simplifying the Funding of Energy Infrastructure and Critical Mineral and Material Projects” memorandum directs federal agencies to share information with the National Energy Dominance Council, led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and created by the president in a February executive order.

Pending applications for funding, and existing funding commitments for energy, critical mineral, or critical material-related projects, are to be reviewed by the council to ensure that “funds across the federal government are utilized appropriately.”

The memo instructs agencies to identify allocations for projects that are “most needed, without redundancies” and encourages department heads “to communicate suggestions on fund deployment to agencies.”

The Trump administration is attempting to incentivize the rapid scale-up of the nation’s overall mining capacity, especially for critical minerals and rare earth elements.

The United States is reliant on China for critical minerals and refining. A Congressional Research Service report in April 2024 found that the nation is 100 percent import reliant for 12 of 50 of the “most critical” minerals, and more than 50 percent import reliant for another 29.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Mineral Commodity Summaries report in January maintained that of 31 critical minerals needed to produce everything from iPhones to F-35 fighter jets, the United States cannot domestically source any and can commercially refine only one: beryllium.

The memorandum states that within 60 days—by Aug. 30—each agency “shall further modify its existing information-sharing policies and initiate appropriate rulemaking proceedings as needed to permit this information sharing.”

It gives Burgum and Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, 180 days to “develop a common application for federal funding … that enables applicants to apply simultaneously to multiple federal government funding programs.”

Since assuming office in January, Trump has issued several executive actions related to mining and critical minerals, including his April 15 “Ensuring National Security and Economic Resilience” order. On April 18, he announced the advancement of the “first wave” of critical minerals projects, and on May 2, the addition of 10 critical mineral projects to the “Federal Permitting Dashboard.”

The Department of the Interior announced on June 25 that it is adopting new policies to speed up the exploration and development of critical minerals located offshore to strengthen U.S. supply chains and protect the nation’s energy, security, and tech needs.