EO 14241-Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production: El Dorado or Bust?

• Pages: 10505-10519
• Date: 01 September 2025
• Published date: 01 September 2025
• Author: Thomas Mitchell,Wesley Peebles

ARTICLES

SEPT/OCT 2025 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 55 ELR 10505

EO 14241IMMEDIATE MEASURES

TO INCREASE AMERICAN

MINERAL PRODUCTION:

EL DORADO OR BUST?

by Thomas Mitchell and Wesley Peebles

Thomas Mitchell is a Senior Attorney and Stegner Fellow in the Law and Policy Program

at the Wallace Stegner Center at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law.

Wesley Peebles is a Research Associate and Stegner Fellow at the Wallace Stegner Center.

President Donald Trump signed Executive Order

No. 14241, Immediate Measures to Increase Ameri-

can Mineral Production, on March 20, 2025.1 at

Executive Order (the Mineral Order) sets forth a grand

vision and a prominent role for the federal government in

accelerat ing and expand ing domestic minera l development

and processing industry wide.

e Mineral Order and its vision for governmental

control of a major section of the economy exemplies the

method of governance promulgated by President Trump

in his second term, relying almost entirely on inherent,

unenumerated executive authority for the use of execu-

tive orders to implement his policies. Within the broader

schema of governance for the second Trump Administra-

tion, many doubts surround the Administration’s ability

to accomplish its stated goals using executive orders. By

invoking emergency authorities as justication for autho-

rizing actions outlined in orders like the Mineral Order,

President Trump bypasses the legislative process and

claims a right to exercise greater latitude than his inherent

constitutional powers provide.

1. Exec. Order No. 14241, 90 Fed. Reg. 13673 (Mar. 25, 2025).

Executive Order No. 14241, Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production, attempts to

create a prominent role for the federal government in accelerating and expanding domestic mineral devel-

opment and processing. Like other recent EOs, it substantially relies on inherent, unenumerated execu-

tive authority, leaving doubts about whether it can accomplish its stated goals. This Article examines the

Order, the authority it claims, and likely legal challenges against both the Order and agency actions taken

to implement it, in the context of both past and current litigation involving similar EOs. It also discusses

practical considerations for the Administration’s proposed federal control of national mining and mineral

industries on an expedited basis.

SUMMARY

is Article examines the Mineral Order, the author-

ity it claims, and early-sta ge litigation of some second-term

Trump Executive Orders. In doing so, the Article pro-

vides context for evaluating the law underlying the Min-

eral Order and understanding future outcomes for actions

called for in the Mineral Order. Part I describes the intent

of the Mineral Order, its asserted authority, the nature of

the emergency declaration asserted in support of its direc-

tives to agencies within the federal government, and the

activities to be undertaken in response to the Order.

Part II examines the legal challenges likely to be made

against both the Mineral Order and agency actions

taken to implement the Executive Order, in the context

of past challenges to Executive Orders and the spate of

other orders issued by President Trump in the rst 100

days of his second administration. Part III examines the

pleadings and rulings from some of the rst challenges to

second-term Trump Executive Orders, and in this con-

text considers and evaluates the Mineral Order’s claims of

authority for the range of directives sought by the presi-

dent. Part IV then discusses practical considerations for

the Trump Administration’s proposed federal control of

national mining and mineral industries on an expedited

basis. Part V concludes.

Copyright © 2025 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, https://www.eli.org