President Barack Obama will veto any legislation that forces the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, the White House said Tuesday.
The announcement came as Republicans took control of Congress, and Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) promptly introduced legislation to green-light the tar sands pipeline.
“If this bill passes this Congress, the president wouldn’t sign it,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.
The Republican-majority House is expected to vote on legislation to approve the pipeline this week.
“There is already a well-established process in place to consider whether or not infrastructure projects like this are in the best interest of the country,” Earnest continued. As the Washington Post reported, “That process is held up by a lawsuit in Nebraska over whether the state legislature could allow the governor to make decisions on the pipeline rather than the state’s Public Utilities Commission.”
Environmental groups welcomed Obama’s veto threat—but urged that the president kill the project for good.
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