Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the US is a mere “tush push” away from reaching a lucrative mineral deal with Ukraine, likening the “important” negotiations to the Philadelphia Eagles’ notorious goal-line play.
“My last indication was that it was very close to the finish line. We were not even on the 1-yard line — we are like, at the half yard line, you know?” Rubio told Fox and Friends’ Brian Kilmeade.
“It’s almost like when the Eagles push the quarterback across, you know, that tush push thing? So it’s close and it’s good. It’s a good deal. It’s an important deal,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to sign the deal for rights to Ukraine’s rare earths — which are valued at an estimated $500 billion — during a meeting with President Trump at the White House on Friday, Fox News reported.
Ukrainian Minister of Justice Olga Stefanishyna, who also serves as a deputy prime minister, said earlier this week that “nearly all key details” had been finalized for the agreement and that Kyiv was prepared to sign.
“We are committed to completing this swiftly to proceed with its signature,” Stafhishyna said.
On Tuesday, multiple outlets reported that Washington and Kyiv had agreed to a revised deal after the US dropped its demand for all the proceeds from Ukraine’s exploitation of rare minerals.
Ukraine’s public broadcaster, Suspilne, reported that the reworked deal calls for the US to receive 50% of Ukraine’s resource-related revenue.
Trump views the deal as a way to make up for billions in American taxpayer money that has been spent on supporting Ukraine against its 3-year war with Russia.
“We want to get that money back,” Trump told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented Ukraine with the rare earths proposal earlier this month after then-candidate Trump and Zelensky had discussed the matter during a September meeting at Trump Tower.
Zelensky rejected the initial offer to the administration’s frustration, but the White House worked with Ukrainian officials to get a revised deal back on the table.
Trump and Zelenksy last met in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron in December to celebrate the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral.
In the weeks since, Trump’s team has met privately with Russian officials to discuss how end to the conflict — and last week, Trump accused Zelensky of being a “dictator” for not holding elections during war time.
