After news broke Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking an equity stake in the company behind the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada, the state’s lone Republican member of Congress signaled openness to the proposal — if it means that the project can move forward. 

In an interview with The Nevada Independent on Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) said if the arrangement “gets them over this rough startup period … I'm open-minded to that.”

“If without this infusion of credit or cash, the project shuts down, then my answer is, ‘Yeah,’” Amodei said. “If my only choice is ‘shut it down,’ or ‘the government takes a piece of it and it keeps going,’ then I'm not picking ‘shut it down.’”

The administration’s interest in an equity stake worth up to 10 percent in Lithium Americas, first reported by Reuters, comes days after news emerged that the Trump administration was questioning a $2.3 billion Biden administration loan that is critical for the company’s efforts to build what will eventually be the world’s largest lithium mine in northwestern Nevada. Lithium, used in batteries, is seen as key to a transition toward electric vehicles. 

Lithium Americas confirmed the accuracy of the Reuters report on Tuesday to The Indy.

Following reports of the loan being in jeopardy, Amodei spoke with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright last week, during which he advocated for the loan, he told The Indy.

“Certainly in Nevada, we want the project to go forward, because when you scrub all this political BS out of it, it sounds like a major source [that] could produce up to 30 percent of the nation's lithium needs,” he said. “And it’s like, well then, don’t sit on your hands.” 

Construction on the project began in 2023 and has significantly ramped up this year. It is a key element of Nevada’s goal to achieve the "lithium loop,” which is a start-to-finish lithium extraction, production and recycling industry in the state. 

In an op-ed earlier this month, Amodei and Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo called the Thacker Pass project “the single most significant opportunity to build a secure, reliable North American lithium supply chain.” In remarks in Las Vegas last week, Lombardo also went so far as to call the lithium industry a “long-term economic salvation” that could help the state be “recession-proof.”

Lombardo’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Tim Crowley, vice president of government and external affairs for Lithium Americas, said the company could not comment on ongoing discussions.

Conditions of the federal loan required up-front investment from General Motors, which has already invested nearly $1 billion in the project. Now, according to the Washington Free Beacon, the U.S. Department of Energy wants General Motors to agree to a clause binding the automaker to purchase a set amount of lithium produced at the Nevada facility over the next two decades before it will issue the loan. 

Amodei said he spoke with Lithium Americas, which blamed General Motors for the problems with the deal, rather than the federal government.

He also said he had not yet read the Reuters story, and would take a day or two to process the news before re-engaging with the energy secretary and Lithium Americas. Still, he stressed the importance of staying competitive with China, which is a major power player in the lithium mining industry.

“If we really want to be independent of China for lithium, then maybe the Energy Department needs to put its money where its mouth is,” Amodei said. “If you want to make this something that's strategic and critical, and we recognize that's something we need to be doing, then OK, give them the loan, or maybe you just sell them part of the project.” 

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) sounded less optimistic in a statement to The Indy.

“Changing the deal at the last second could put this project at risk and jeopardize our national security,” she said.

This story was updated at 6:43 p.m. on 9/23/2025 to include a statement from Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).