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Sunday, November 30, 2025
Saturday, November 29, 2025
[Salon] Dictatorial dscontinuity in government - Guest Post
Trump says he’s cancelling all Biden orders that were signed using an autopen
Trump vows to terminate every document his predecessor signed, and if Biden lied about using an autopen, he would be charged with perjury
SCMP
US President Donald Trump gestures after making a speech at a business forum in Miami, Florida, on November 5. Trump says he plans to cancel all of former president Joe Biden’s orders that were signed using an autopen. Photo: AFP
Khushboo Razdanin Washington
Published: 4:44am, 29 Nov 2025Updated: 7:06am, 29 Nov 2025
US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he was nullifying all documents signed by autopen during the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
“Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect,” Trump said on social media.
He added that he was “hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally.”
Trump had already moved quickly after returning to the White House in January, issuing an order revoking nearly 80 Biden-era executive orders. Some of those remain in effect and may now be cancelled.
A Secret Service agent stands in front of framed images of US President Donald Trump and former US president Joe Biden’s autopen signature on the Presidential Walk of Fame in the colonnade of the White House on Tuesday. Photo: AP
A Secret Service agent stands in front of framed images of US President Donald Trump and former US president Joe Biden’s autopen signature on the Presidential Walk of Fame in the colonnade of the White House on Tuesday. Photo: AP
During his presidency, from January 2021 to January 2025, Biden issued 162 executive orders, including on China’s national security risks, investment limits, sensitive tech controls, data restrictions, tariffs and supply-chain reviews.
Even if these executive orders ended, Trump’s recent new policies on investment, tech, trade and supply chains could restore similar restrictions with broader tools.
However, Trump did not specify which Biden-era existing orders will be impacted.
It is also not clear how many executive orders were signed using the autopen and who will validate Biden’s signatures. It’s not unusual for presidents to strike down directives signed by their predecessors.
The use of an autopen device is legal in the US for presidential signatures on legislation and executive actions, provided it is authorised by the president. Trump has claimed that Biden did not personally approve those signatures and suggested that, due to his age and alleged cognitive decline, he may have been unaware of his surroundings.
Trump on Friday threatened that if Biden says he was involved in the autopen process, “he will be brought up on charges of perjury”.
In a June statement, Biden rejected his successor’s allegations. “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” he said.
The statement came shortly after Trump directed the counsel to the president, in consultation with US Attorney General Pam Bondi and other officials, to investigate “whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden’s mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President”.
Conservative legal commentator Ed Whelan said on social media that Trump was free to revoke executive orders, whether Biden personally signed them.
During his presidency, from January 2021 to January 2025, Joe Biden issued 162 executive orders. Photo: AP
During his presidency, from January 2021 to January 2025, Joe Biden issued 162 executive orders. Photo: AP
“But he doesn’t have the same freedom with respect to ‘anything else’ (e.g., bills enacted by Congress, pardons) that Biden directed be signed by autopen,” he wrote.
In 2011, The New York Times reported that Barack Obama had become the first US president to sign a bill by autopen while in Europe. Paper versions are still sometimes flown to the president for signing.
In his last days in office, Biden issued pardons for people targeted by Trump – including Biden’s own son, lawmakers who probed Trump, a military general who had criticised Trump and the country’s top Covid-19 expert.
Additional reporting by AFP
Khushboo Razdan
Khushboo Razdan is a senior correspondent based in Washington. Prior to this, she worked for the Post in New York. Before joining the team, she worked as a multimedia journalist in Beijing and New Delhi for over a decade. She is a graduate of the Columbia Journalism School.
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Friday, November 28, 2025
[Salon] Saudi Arabia and the Strategic Mineral Boom - Arab Digest.org Guest Post
Saudi Arabia and the Strategic Mineral Boom
Summary: especially in the wake of the recent agreement with the US, Saudi Arabia’s longstanding drive into rare earth mining and processing appears to be gaining momentum. But multiple challenges remain.
We thank our regular contributor Alastair Newton for today’s newsletter. Alastair worked as a professional political analyst in the City of London from 2005 to 2015. Before that he spent 20 years as a career diplomat with the British Diplomatic Service. In 2015 he co-founded and is a director of Alavan Business Advisory Ltd. You can find Alastair’s latest AD podcast, Saudi Arabia and an uncertain oil market here.
“Saudi Arabia is seeking to anchor its economic diversification strategy in critical minerals, leveraging its vast reserves, foreign partnerships, and regional positioning to gain industrial clout and geopolitical leverage in the global energy transition.”
Cauvery Ganapathy, ORF Middle East, 30 September 2025
The announcement during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s de facto state visit to Washington earlier this month that Saudi Arabia and the United States had signed a ‘Strategic Framework for Cooperation on Securing Uranium, Metals, Permanent Magnets, and Critical Minerals Supply Chains’ has drawn attention to the longstanding aspiration of the Kingdom to diversify its economy into strategic minerals.
Under the terms of the deal, MP Materials has entered into a partnership with the Pentagon (which owns a 15 percent stake in the company) and Saudi state miner Ma’aden (which was set up as long ago as 1997) to develop and exploit the Kingdom’s seemingly abundant reserves of rare earth elements (REEs). As Camilla Hodgson and Ahmed al Omran wrote in the Financial Times on 19 November:
“The groups plan to develop a rare earths refinery that will process raw materials sourced from Saudi Arabia and other regions, and supply US and Saudi manufacturing and defence industries”.
This includes heavy REEs, which are particularly difficult to source other than through China. Financing from the US side will be supplied by the Pentagon in a part of the deal which has not been revealed in detail. Combined, these two factors should ensure that, as seen from Beijing at least, the Kingdom’s expansion into strategic minerals is nothing like as ‘geopolitically neutral’ as it likes to claim.
Nonetheless, on paper at least Saudi Arabia has the potential to be a valuable source of not just raw material but also refined REEs to the US and its allies and to target markets in the ‘Global South’. Notably, as a recent CSIS paper by Gracelin Baskaran explored:
The estimated value of the Kingdom’s mineral reserves, including REEs, has risen from roughly US$1.3 trillion in 2016 to around US$2.5 trillion, reflecting Vision 2030's prioritisation of high value mineral resources;
The Jabal Sayid deposit is believed to hold the fourth most valuable reserves of REEs globally with an estimated 552,000 tons of heavy rare earths and 355,000 tons of light rare earths. Unexplored adjacent deposits could yield even greater supplies;
The Saudis have a huge ‘energy advantage’ relative to many competitors not only in the form of cheap hydrocarbons but also some of the world’s lowest cost renewables. With processing REEs requiring nine to 13 more energy than extraction, this is critical; and,
Since the enactment of the 2021 Mining Investment Law the issuance of mining licences takes, in principle at least, just six months.
Furthermore, Saudi environmental regulations are likely to prove less onerous when it comes to processing in particular than has long been the case in developed countries.
Saudi Arabia is accelerating its economic diversification into strategic minerals following a new US partnership—the "Strategic Framework for Cooperation on Securing... Critical Minerals Supply Chains"—which includes a Ma'aden/MP Materials joint venture to build a rare earth refinery
Where the Kingdom is less well placed, as was highlighted in a May 2025 paper published by Rare Earth Exchanges (and backed up by an SWP paper looking at Saudi Arabia’s potential from an EU perspective), is as follows:
In practice, the mining sector remains very state-dominated, i.e. Ma’aden and its overseas investment arm Manara. Licensing can therefore be much more byzantine and time-consuming than the relevant legislation suggests;
Despite having a strategy, championed by the Vice‐Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Mining Affairs Khalid bin Saleh Al-Mudaifer, to develop downstream capacity through refining and value-added manufacturing, there are currently no REE or battery-metal processing plants in the Kingdom;
All the relevant expertise and equipment for such will therefore have to be imported and none of the currently shortlisted partners (MP, Shenghe, Lynas, Neo) has completed an overseas REE refinery;
The absence of relevant skills domestically may prove particularly critical as competition for such continues to heat up globally;
Saudi Arabia is not a member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and transparency therefore remains a concern, particular around the power wielded by the Public Investment Fund which holds golden shares in many projects;
In addition to NGO concern over lax environmental regulation (see above), there are also question marks over social/labour standards as highlighted in the 2 October Arab Digest Newsletter;
With Jabal Sayid situated around 400km from Jeddah (albeit just 30km from Medina), building the infrastructure for mining (roads, power and especially water) may prove to be a major hurdle; and,
The Gulf region as a whole remains prone to geopolitical risk and may become more so given clear Israeli concerns over deals struck between the US and the Kingdom which stand to alter the regional balance of power.
How potential investors view the balance between these pros and cons may become more apparent at the Kingdom’s 13-15 January Future Minerals Forum.
Stepping back to take in the bigger picture, there is a sense, legitimate in my view, that history may be about to ‘rhyme’. When seen in the broader context of the deals struck during MbS’s Washington visit, the REE pact has more than an echo of the 1945 Quincy Pact between then US President Franklin D Roosevelt and Saudi King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud. Of course, Donald Trump is no FDR; and, especially given his track record, it is far from clear what declaring Saudi Arabia a ‘major non-Nato ally’ would mean if push came to shove (or if this status will outlive his time in office). But, on the face of it, as the importance of oil to the global economy looks set to dip imminently, Riyadh’s move into REEs in return for US security-related ‘commitments’ looks like a smart move on its part.
As for Washington, perhaps someone in the White House should remind the President that just 15 years after the historic meeting on the USS Quincy Saudi Arabia was one of the five founding members of Opec, with all which this has ultimately implied for oil prices since then!
Members can leave comments about this newsletter on the Arab Digest website.
Thursday, November 27, 2025
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Tuesday, November 25, 2025
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Sunday, November 23, 2025
Saturday, November 22, 2025
Friday, November 21, 2025
[Salon] The Nobel Trap: how MBS Lured Trump into a conflict Trump Admitted Wasn't 'On My Charts' - ArabDigest.org Guest Post
The Nobel Trap: how MBS Lured Trump into a conflict Trump Admitted Wasn't 'On My Charts'
Summary: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's recent visit to Washington focused on arms deals and investment pledges, but was overshadowed by President Trump's surprising commitment to intervene in the complex, regionally-fueled civil war in Sudan at the Crown Prince's request. This involvement risks drawing Trump into a protracted conflict that has resisted prior diplomatic efforts and is now creating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
We thank an Arab Digest contributor who prefers to remain anonymous for today’s newsletter.
Predictable headlines followed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington this past week, where President Donald Trump sought to turn the page on a strained US-Saudi relationship. The president berated a reporter who raised the issue that the Crown Prince was found by U.S. intelligence agencies to have approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The White House touted a prospective Saudi pledge of between $600 billion and $1 trillion in investment inside the United States, though offered few specifics. Major arms deals, including potential F-35 aircraft sales, grabbed attention as well.
But buried beneath the spectacle was Trump’s disclosure that the two leaders had spoken at length about a war far from U.S. shores. Not in Gaza. Not in Ukraine. Trump said, “His majesty would like me to do something very powerful having to do with Sudan.” He continued in front of the Crown Prince, “I thought it was just something that was crazy and out of control…But I see how important that is to you, and to a lot of your friends in the room.”
Trump, ever eager to expand the roster of foreign conflicts he claims to have ended, now faces the daunting task of delivering a diplomatic breakthrough where years of political efforts have faltered.
The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), is not merely the product of internal power struggles. It has been shaped by regional alignments that have transformed the conflict into an all-out war. Egypt, whose military and political leadership has long viewed Sudan’s army as a strategic partner, emerged as the SAF’s main backer. Egypt sees the SAF as a guarantor to help protect its shared southern border while also keeping Sudan aligned with Cairo’s position in its increasingly fraught water standoff with a rising Ethiopia.
The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, has thrown material and financial support behind the RSF. It had partnered with its leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in its earlier battle with the Huthis in Yemen. Emirati leadership see Hemedti, as the RSF leader is called, as a partner capable of advancing Emirati interests including access to the Red Sea, access to farmland, and access to gold.
These alignments led to the conflict’s escalation and complicated international diplomacy turning what began as a fierce domestic contest for power in Khartoum into a regional struggle. Saudi Arabia stepped in early on to try to mediate the conflict to stabilise the Red Sea region and the kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030 agenda.
Mr. Trump rolled out the red carpet for MBS with a military flyover followed by a black-tie quasi-state dinner complete with soccer stars and tech and Wall Street billionaires [photo credit: White House]
MBS’s appeal to Trump at the White House this past week shows just how concerned he has become with Saudi Arabia’s unstable neighbor just across the Red Sea. Sudan is now experiencing the largest displacement crisis in the world, with famine conditions spreading across multiple regions. In October, the RSF seized El Fasher in North Darfur, triggering a mass killing of civilians so extensive that it has reportedly been visible from satellite imagery. The scale and brutality of the violence have alarmed regional governments who fear the conflict’s spillover effects as well as the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding on their doorstep.
The Trump administration will need to show a rare degree of focus if there is hope that the United States can persuade foreign capitals to step back from a war they have spent years shaping. In September, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, known as the “Quad,” called for a ceasefire to allow for humanitarian assistance, which would be followed by a permanent ceasefire and a transition to civilian rule.
Despite this consensus, there is concern that such announcements are merely diplomatic cover. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared some of the harshest remarks to date in November, stopping short of directly calling out the UAE, at a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Canada. "I don't want to get into calling anybody out at a press conference today, because what we want is a good outcome here…We know who the parties are that are involved [in weapons supply]... That's why they're part of the Quad along with other countries involved."
Any American breakthrough in halting or constraining the flow of foreign support would be a major diplomatic victory. But it would not by itself end Sudan’s war. Over the past two and a half years, the conflict has metastasised. The brutal contest between two military leaders has now drawn in ethnic and tribal actors, as well as Islamist elements who were part of the former regime under President Omar al-Bashir, who governed Sudan for 30 years. The SAF rejected the Quad proposal, citing the intervention as an infringement of the country’s sovereignty. The RSF agreed to the ceasefire, but only after its 18-month siege led to the takeover of El Fasher.
In many areas, armed groups no longer respond consistently to direction from Khartoum, let alone to appeals from their foreign patrons. The war started off top-down but has since become decentralised.
For Trump, who continues to call for a Nobel Prize, the multilayered nature of the conflict presents a profound challenge. Even if foreign backers genuinely back de-escalation efforts, this will not necessarily turn into the SAF and the RSF entering a negotiation process. And even if they did agree to talks, command structures have eroded and the fragmented reality on the ground means that the alphabet soup of local militias may not even listen.
Any diplomatic efforts will not yield quick wins. The Sudanese have endured genocide and years of dictatorship. A durable settlement will require a political process inclusive of civilian movements and technocratic networks that drove Sudan’s short-lived democratic transition in 2019.
The United States can still show it has the political capital to bring all sides, both foreign and local, to the table. It will demand sustained engagement and intensive coordination around a war that Trump had admitted “wasn’t on my charts.” But, without American attention, the conflict will certainly continue to burn, reshaping the region and deepening one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes.
Thursday, November 20, 2025
Trump Administration continues to extend operations at West Michigan coal plant • Michigan Advance
Trump Administration continues to extend operations at West Michigan coal plant • Michigan Advance
Further north along Michigan’s western coastline, a coal-fired power plant set to close down in May got another extension from the Trump administration. In an order signed Tuesday, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright renewed his direction to utility Consumers Energy to hold off on shutting down the facility, which the administration deemed necessary to stave off blackouts. The latest order, https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2025-11/Order%20No%20202-25-9.pdf?_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9oNcEBv0qyqZCkJ16ln7BJKXBa49If_8aSor0M-z7a2x6zPLK7AtlvQXQzGYMB8vDzYHnjC3PHaBjGOzDjQpAjszHjVo7Cqd6xwpkJp1r8dwoSB5Q&_hsmi=390857081
Michigan Advance noted, https://michiganadvance.com/2025/11/19/trump-administration-continues-to-extend-operations-at-west-michigan-coal-plant/?_hsenc=p2ANqtz--DoVI1m5j4QzzBmQDAmdyXjBV_f1w5WNnzBzCCiOPK1rBcxvmivq5_irjyzoUJDP57EcyKrOWYPs5DbfqcsCYBz6Zky-LJCL-KaQlzQDdclFrTefc&_hsmi=390857081
extends until February 17, 2026. President Donald Trump’s efforts to prop up the coal industry haven’t gone so well elsewhere. As Heatmap’s Matthew Zeitlin reported last week, coal-fired stations keep breaking down, with equipment breaking at more than twice the rate of wind turbines.
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