President Donald Trump is ramping up efforts to boost America’s supply of critical minerals by striking a deal with Australia, pitching potential partnerships with African leaders, and launching a multibillion-dollar investment fund to develop new sources. The push comes as Washington tries to loosen its reliance on China, which still dominates the global supply of critical minerals and recently flexed that control as a geopolitical weapon. Hannah Northey from POLITICO’s E&E News breaks down Trump’s critical minerals strategy and what it means for the U.S.-China relations. Plus, the Trump administration has officially elevated Republican Laura Swett to FERC chair. Hannah Northey covers the nexus of mining, environmental policy and politics for POLITICO’s E&E News. Josh Siegel is an energy reporter for POLITICO and the host of POLITICO Energy. Nirmal Mulaikal is the co-host and producer of POLITICO Energy. Alex Keeney is a senior audio producer at POLITICO. Ben Lefebvre is the deputy energy editor at POLITICO. Matt Daily is the energy editor for POLITICO. For more news on energy and the environment, subscribe to Power Switch, our free evening newsletter: https://www.politico.com/power-switch And for even deeper coverage and analysis, read our Morning Energy newsletter by subscribing to POLITICO Pro: https://subscriber.politicopro.com/newsletter-archive/morning-energy Our theme music is by Pran Bandi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
