As the new Republican Congress was being sworn in Tuesday at the Capitol, the White House threatened to veto legislation authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline, a move that GOP lawmakers said could erode hopes of working with President Obama on a host of issues.
It’s not that Republicans expected anything different. Obama previously had waved his veto pen at previous attempts to go around the six-year federal review of the Canada-to-Gulf Coast project, and White House press secretary Josh Earnest had said Obama’s opinion hadn’t changed.
“It raises questions about the willingness of Republicans to actually cooperate with this administration when you consider that the very first bill that’s introduced in the United States Senate is one that Republicans know the president opposes,” Earnest said.
But Republicans noted that the legislation, which is due for a House vote Friday and a Senate vote this month, has bipartisan support in both chambers. They said a rejection on the first day of Congress signals a problematic relationship.
“It’s toxic. It’s poisonous,” said Rep. John Fleming, R-La. “Because if we can’t trust that he’s going to be working with us in good faith on that, then how can we expect him to work on other things that may be more complex?”
Obama has not officially taken a stand on the 1,700-mile pipeline, but he has spoken dismissively of it recently. He has downplayed its potential effect on jobs — the State Department said it would create 35 permanent jobs, as well as 42,100 direct and indirect jobs during a two-year construction phase — and echoed concerns of environmental groups who say the oil sands it would transport are headed overseas.
The House would pass the legislation easily, as it has several times in recent years. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said the Senate bill has 60 co-sponsors and that three more lawmakers would vote for it, but getting the 67 votes needed to override a veto could prove a long shot. In that case, Hoeven said Republicans would try to attach Keystone XL authorization to another energy or spending bill.
Obama likely would couch any rejection of the legislation in terms of process rather than a decision on the merits of the pipeline. He has long said that the State Department should be allowed to finish its review of the pipeline. That review has been stopped while the Nebraska Supreme Court decides whether a 2012 law that fast-tracked a new pipeline route was constitutional, a ruling expected any day.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell accused Obama of playing politics, as he noted the White House was silent on a similar bill that failed by a vote in November. That bill was sponsored by then-Sen. Mary Landrieu and was viewed as a last-ditch effort to preserve the Louisiana Democrat’s seat.
“It’s interesting to note that the president declined to issue a veto threat last month when a Democrat senator was trying to save her job over the exact same Keystone bill,” the Kentucky Republican said.
But liberals and environmental groups called that vote, as well as the forthcoming Keystone XL vote, a charade, pointing out that Republicans were aware of Obama’s position on the pipeline review.
“At a time of low oil prices and growing U.S. energy, is Keystone really the most pressing issue? Or is it just red meat for the GOP base?” tweeted former Obama adviser David Axelrod.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said he would push for an amendment to prevent export of crude oil shipped through Keystone XL, but in light of the veto threat called the upcoming vote “political kabuki theater.”
Now, however, the Democrats do not have a majority in the Senate to stop legislation the administration opposes. That will force Obama to make decisions on the pipeline and other policies.
“There’s been a lot of talk about Republicans being obstructionist and we’re the ones who are holding things back,” Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., told the Washington Examiner. “He’s going to be the one that’s blocking it versus the Congress.”
Republicans had complained that Sen. Harry Reid had blocked amendments and stalled Keystone XL over the years. But with the Nevada Democrat now in the minority, the path to Obama’s desk is much clearer for the GOP Congress.
“The president is going to have to start saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to some things that are really important to the American people, like the Keystone XL pipeline,” said Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio. “I think the impact of that is that it reveals to the American people what the real agenda here is. And they will see for sure who has the pro-growth, pro-job creation, pro-America-first agenda.”
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop said the message from the veto threat “isn’t a good one,” but held out hope that there was still a way to work on a compromise.
“If the president is serious about working with Congress — yeah, that has to be an option,” the Utah Republican told reporters.
Fleming said the potential veto showed Obama was more concerned about satisfying an environmental base than giving the thumbs up to a project a majority of Congress and, according to several polls, most Americans support.
“Everybody wants this but President Obama and the extreme environmental left. So there’s no way that this president can claim he wants to work with people and then veto this bill,” Fleming said.
The veto threat gave the pipeline’s opponents hope that Obama would ultimately reject the $8 billion project.
Obama has said whether the pipeline contributes to climate change would be a factor in his decision. While a State Department review said Keystone XL wouldn’t pose “significant” environmental risks, the review said the pipeline would add to cumulative greenhouse gas emissions, which are blamed for manmade climate change.
“President Obama continues to show real climate leadership by pledging to veto attempts by Congress to circumvent the process and we’re more confident than ever that he will reject this dirty, dangerous pipeline once and for all,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president of government affairs with the League of Conservation Voters.
