Few things keep me up at night more than our catastrophic dependence on China for the critical minerals that power our military, our economy, and our way of life. We are not talking about a minor supply chain inconvenience. We are talking about a strategic vulnerability that Beijing is actively exploiting and Washington has been far too slow to address.

Serving as Acting Secretary of Homeland Security during President Donald Trump’s first term, I saw firsthand his commitment to protecting America’s critical infrastructure, including the mineral supply chains that our military and economy depend on.