WASHINGTON – A U.S. lawmaker says he’s hearing that President Barack Obama is about to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, after years of delay and debate.
As a vocal supporter of the Canada-to-Texas project and a Republican critic of the president, Sen. John Hoeven would be an unlikely candidate to announce the long-awaited decision.
But today, the North Dakota lawmaker told the Senate that’s what he’s hearing from his sources.
READ MORE: South Dakota panel set to hear debate over Keystone XL oil pipeline
Hoeven says he believes Obama will make the announcement during the August congressional break, in the hope of stifling criticism.
The president has vetoed a Keystone XL bill in the past, but has never definitively slammed the door shut on the project through the normal regulatory process.
Hoeven says rejection makes no sense on environmental grounds, and would disadvantage the oil industry of a friendly U.S. neighbour even as a nuclear deal helps build Iran’s industry.
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