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Trump Participates in Signing Time, Feb. 2, 2026

February 2, 2026 · The White House · 0:35:19

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

President Donald Trump announced the creation of the U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve at the White House on February 2, 2026, “the first ever stockpile of critical minerals” for civilian use in times of emergency. “Today, we’re launching what will be known as Project Vault to ensure that American businesses and workers are never harmed by any shortage,” he said. “Just as we have long had a strategic petroleum reserve and a stockpile of critical minerals for national defense, we’re now creating this reserve for American industry.”

The President put the financing at “$10 billion in Export-Import Bank financing with $2 billion in private sector financing,” and said taxpayers were expected to profit from interest on the loan. He was joined by General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Ivanhoe Mines founder Robert Friedland, and thanked Secretaries Marco Rubio, Scott Bessent, Doug Burgum, and Howard Lutnick and Export-Import Bank Chairman John Jovanovich, along with Senator Bernie Moreno and Representatives French Hill and Bruce Westerman.

Why it matters

Project Vault is the domestic anchor of the administration’s critical-minerals program — the same program Vice President Vance carried to allied ministers two days later. It touches the portfolios of the Secretaries of State, Treasury, Interior, and Commerce, all named on stage by the President.

Scoreboard watch

This is a candidate item for the weekly scoreboard: a named initiative with stated financing ($10B EXIM + $2B private) whose stockpile build-out can be checked as it proceeds.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Participates in Signing Time, Feb. 2, 2026” (official upload, embedded above). All figures as stated by the President at the event.