Texas and Montana are leading a coalition of 21 states in a lawsuit filed Wednesday against President Biden over his decision to revoke a key permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Represented by Republican attorneys general, the states contend Biden had no authority to revoke the cross-border permit, arguing that only Congress can regulate interstate and international commerce.
The complaint contends Biden’s “arbitrary and capricious” decision could deprive states and local governments of millions of dollars in revenue.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen called Biden’s executive order “an empty virtue signal to his wealthy coastal elite donors.”
“The power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce belongs to Congress – not the president,” he said. “This is another example of Joe Biden overstepping his constitutional role to the detriment of Montanans.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his state and others are going after the Biden administration for “once again failing the American people, killing tens of thousands of high-paying jobs and making us more dependent on foreign energy.”
“This pipeline is one of the most significant, clean and reliable energy projects in a generation,” he said. “And yet, in an irrational effort to appease far-left environmental radicals, Biden violated the Constitution and killed it.”
Paxton said it will be only “the first battle of what will be a four-year war” against the administration in defense of the energy sector.
“And so, Mr. President,” he said, “I’m sure I’ll be saying this many, many times in the coming years, but we’ll see you in court.”
Biden claimed in his executive order that “leaving the Keystone XL pipeline permit in place would not be consistent with my Administration’s economic and climate imperatives.”
The killing of the 1,200-mile pipeline from Canada to the U.S. drew sharp criticism from union leaders for the loss of thousands of jobs. WND reported the president of the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters, Mark McManus, complained that Biden gave in to the “voices of fringe activists.”
McManus argued there’s no issue with the environment, insisting that when “built with union labor by the men and women of the United Association, pipelines like Keystone XL remain the safest and most efficient modes of energy transportation in the world.” Without the pipeline, the oil must be transported with trains that are subject to derailing.
Other critics of Biden’s cancellation of the pipeline are Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who also argues the pipeline would be a safer way to transport oil than ships or trains.
See Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s comment on the lawsuit:
No one fights harder for Texas than I do. Biden’s unlawful policies are detrimental to our economy and our country ➡️ https://t.co/4SpcfoNUmu #KeystonePipeline
I will not back down. pic.twitter.com/YuWz91fezV
— Texas Attorney General (@TXAG) March 17, 2021
WND reported in February that after canceling the pipeline permit, President Biden’s administration began negotiating a deal between the Taliban and one of the world’s worst dictatorships for a trans-national pipeline.
The personal impact of Biden’s order was captured in an interview with longtime oil and gas industry workers David and Kristina Dickerson.
“I feel pretty betrayed,” David, a 31-year veteran of the industry, said in a “Fox & Friends” interview.
A Fox Business Network feature showed the impact of the loss of thousands of jobs on towns from Canada to Texas.
See the FBN report:
Tim McMillan, chief executive of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, told Reuters that Biden’s action “is killing thousands of Canadian and American jobs at a time when both economies badly need private investment” and wiped out equity investment in the pipeline by Canadian indigenous groups.
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This article was originally published by the WND News Center.
