The Nickel Report

On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.1) (the “OBBB”) was signed into law by President Trump. This comprehensive budget reconciliation bill includes provisions related to tax policy, federal spending, healthcare, border security, energy, and more.

On June 30, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum titled Simplifying the Funding of Energy Infrastructure and Critical Mineral and Material Projects. Building on earlier presidential actions, including the Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production executive order that called for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Department of Energy (DOE), and other agencies to facilitate financing for mineral production projects, this Presidential Memorandum aims to enhance efficiency and simplify the funding process for energy infrastructure and critical mineral and material projects by streamlining federal funding applications.

On June 16, the Trump Administration reinstated the National Coal Council (“NCC”), a federal advisory committee that lapsed in 2021. The Federal Register notice issued by the Department of Energy (“DOE”) announcing the reinstatement states that NCC is authorized for a two-year term. The NCC will consist of members from various coal-related sectors advising Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on coal matters.