Joe Biden’s campaign said he would rescind the Keystone XL pipeline permit if elected to the Oval Office in November.
Biden’s campaign policy director, Stef Feldman, said the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee would “proudly stand in the Roosevelt Room again as president and stop [the project] for good by rescinding the Keystone XL pipeline permit” on Monday.
The statement marked the first time Biden has addressed how he would approach the pipeline if elected.
The Trump administration approved construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline on land in the United States earlier this year after years of legal battles and the Obama administration’s rejection of the pipeline, citing environmental concerns. The pipeline would carry tar sands oil from Canada to refineries in Texas.
“Today’s decision is an important milestone in constructing the Keystone XL pipeline and a great day for the common sense infrastructure improvement in our country,” Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt said in a statement in January. “President Trump clearly recognizes the importance of having the infrastructure necessary to meet our energy needs and to fuel our economic progress.”
Completing the pipeline was one of Trump’s promises on the campaign trail in 2016.
“I want the Keystone pipeline, but the people of the United States should be given a piece, a significant piece of the profits,” then-candidate Trump said in May 2016. “The federal government is in the way.”
