Teddy Roosevelt’s Descendants Have a Beef With Today’s GOP
This undated file photo shows Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States. (AP Photo/File)
Four descendants of President Theodore Roosevelt are urging Republican senators to oppose a House-passed measure that would enable copper and nickel mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, arguing that the party is undermining its conservation heritage. In a letter reported by The New York Times, the family members — representing three branches of the Roosevelt lineage — warned that today’s GOP risks eroding the environmental legacy championed by their ancestor.
One signatory, investment banker Theodore Roosevelt IV, 83, described himself as a moderate Republican and said his great-grandfather would be “appalled” by the shift. The Boundary Waters lies within Superior National Forest, which Theodore Roosevelt established near the end of his presidency.
At the center of the dispute is a proposed underground mine by Twin Metals Minnesota, contested for more than a decade. Conservation advocates say mining there could release heavy metals and acidic runoff into the region’s interconnected lakes and streams. In 2023, the federal government imposed a 20-year mining moratorium on more than 225,000 acres in the area. House Republicans have since voted to reverse that ban, and Senate Republicans are considering a simple-majority vote to do the same. The Roosevelt descendants said they had never before co-signed a public letter together, but viewed this issue as important enough to “get in the arena” alongside their famous forebear.
Supporters of overturning the ban include Rep. Pete Stauber, whose district covers the region, according to Minnesota Daily. Stauber has called the mining moratorium “illegal” and argued it threatens local livelihoods. “Growing up in the Northland, I’ve seen firsthand how these radical policies kill jobs and hurt families,” he said.
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