The U.S. government is investing in rare-earth mining in a continuing effort to reduce dependence on imports.

As the Trump Administration has taken stakes in private firms like Intel in recent months, the Commerce Department said Monday it would provide mining firm USA Rare Earth with a $1.6 billion loan and $277 million in federal funding in exchange for shares in the company. The announcement comes after the federal government became the largest shareholder in MP Materials—which owns the only rare-earth mine in the U.S.—last summer.

Such deals are part of the government’s goal to pivot away from China, which dominates global rare-earth refining and magnet production. Still, many U.S. firms are not yet profitable in 2026.

Criticism is mounting in the wake of the killing of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis, with some Republicans breaking from the Trump Administration and calling for an investigation into the shooting. Former Vice President Mike Pence called the incident “deeply troubling,” while several outlets have reported that Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino is expected to leave Minnesota imminently. President Donald Trump said Monday that he will send border czar Tom Homan to the state to direct immigration operations.

MORE: Federal funding for ICE is shaping up to be a central issue ahead of a potential government shutdown at the end of the month, and the backlash may extend to the hundreds of companies that have been awarded contracts with the agency in recent years. For instance, Palantir was awarded $139.3 million to assist “investigative case management........

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