President Trump on Thursday signed a peace deal to end the war in eastern Congo and used the moment to advance another priority: securing U.S. access to critical minerals. The big picture: The Trump administration has aggressively pursued rare earth minerals and magnets overseas — vital for everything from the production of vehicles to nuclear weapons — after China threatened U.

This video explored how Ukraine’s vast mineral reserves turned into one of the most strategically valuable assets of the entire war. The United States had pushed for a long-term mineral deal to secure access to titanium,

There is still bipartisan support for Ukraine in Congress and perhaps some of the silent Republicans will be more willing to act without Trump’s blessing after the Epstein debacle.

The Trump administration’s 28-point plan to end the Ukraine war, released last week, was too generous to Russia and too restrictive on Ukraine. After angry responses in Ukraine and in Congress, negotiators from both countries are fixing the plan.

Both sides have committed $150 million in seed capital ($75 million each) to begin operations, and Ukraine hopes to invest in at least three projects over the next year and a half, with promising opportunities in titanium, lithium, graphite, manganese and uranium extraction.

Donald Trump’s biggest diplomatic push by far has been on the Russia-Ukraine war, and in that context, his efforts have been entirely malign. From the beginning, his intention has been to force Ukraine into a crippling peace with Russia in order to open the road for ending sanctions on Russia and making lots of money.