19 GOP AGs urge Biden to reinstate Keystone, protect energy infrastructure in wake of Colonial Pipeline attack

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Left exploits pipeline hack to push political agenda

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Nineteen Republican attorneys general sent a letter to President Biden calling on his administration to support energy infrastructure, including reinstating the Keystone XL Pipeline permit, in light of the cyberattack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline.

On Tuesday, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen sent a letter with 18 of his GOP colleagues from around the country to Biden, saying the "aftermath" of the cyberattack that took the Colonial Pipeline offline "has been alarming."

The attorneys general likened the price increases, "fuel shortages and gas lines" Americans are currently experiencing to "those seen in the Carter administration" and said the situation shines light on the "widespread disruption and public panic" when a fuel pipeline goes down.

"Americans depend upon safe and secure energy supplies, which is why we must build and maintain robust energy infrastructure that is resilient in the face of accidents and sabotage," wrote the attorneys general. "A temporary shutdown of one pipeline’s full-capacity operations shouldn’t bring half the country to the brink."

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The group said the "safe and clean energy sources" America needs includes the Keystone XL Pipeline – which Biden canceled via executive order – and pointed out that Biden supported pipelines when he served as former President Obama's vice president.

"But your administration’s current approach exchanges those fact-based conclusions for the faddish preoccupations of your coastal elite constituencies," the group stated in the letter.

"Indeed, hours after you took office, you purported to kill thousands of jobs, extinguish billions in economic opportunity, and jeopardize American energy independence because of the ‘message’ Keystone XL sends to the global community – whatever that means," they added.

The attorneys general lambasted Biden for his "impulse to bow to an extreme climate agenda untethered to scientific fact or reality."

Additionally, they said the decision to cut the pipeline "undercuts" American energy independence while damaging relations with "geopolitical allies like Canada," who would benefit from the pipeline.

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"In other words, your pursuit of this radical agenda continues to hurt Americans not insulated from the consequences of your decisions by geography or privilege," the attorneys general wrote.

"Maybe one day, down the road, we will obtain the Utopian energy profile you desire," they concluded. "But in the meantime, Americans want practical, effective leadership – not visionary deprivations."

Knudsen is also leading a 21-state lawsuit against the Biden administration challenging the Keystone Pipeline cancellation.

In addition to Montana, the letter was signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.