President Donald Trump quietly tapped an industry and military veteran who worked at the State Department during his first stint in office to oversee the administration’s ambitious plan to unleash more mining and mineral processing across the nation.
David Copley, formerly with the mining company Newmont, is now overseeing the president’s mineral push on the National Energy Dominance Council, according to multiple people within the critical minerals sector.
“David Copley is an amazing choice to lead the critical new minerals initiative for President Trump and his National Energy Dominance Council,” said Drew Horn, who helped lead minerals policy in the first Trump administration. “His background and understanding of the necessity to incorporate domestic production of minerals into priority defense production is unmatched.”
The White House and Interior Department declined to answer questions about Copley’s position, though he is currently listed as a staffer at the Interior Department, according to documents viewed by POLITICO’s E&E News.
