Led by Ken Paxton (TX) and Austin Knudsen (MT), Attorneys General from 21 states filed a lawsuit against President Biden on Wednesday in an effort to get the court to throttle down his executive order to stop construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
As CFACT reported earlier this year, on his first day in the Oval Office President Biden discontinued construction of the Keystone XL pipeline which runs from Canada into Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Once completed, Keystone XL would have connected to other existing Keystone pipelines that travel to refining centers along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
Biden justified executive order on environmental grounds saying it was necessary to battle climate change. Its cancellation, however, will kill around 11,000 jobs and cut off 830,000 barrels of oil per day — oil which must now be transported by more expensive rail and trucks.
In their complaint, the AG’s state, “The [President’s] decision to provide or withhold permission to construct and operate an oil pipeline across the international border with Canada is a regulation of international and interstate commerce. Under the Constitution, this power resides with Congress.” Therefore, “President Biden’s decision to revoke the Keystone XL permit exceeded the scope of his authority under Article II of the Constitution.”
The complete list of all 21 states involved in the lawsuit include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
To read the full lawsuit in its entirety, click here.