Biden's Keystone pipeline cancellation is pandering to 'radical environmentalists': Gov. Gianforte

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Gianforte: Biden is 'pandering' to radical environmentalists with Keystone shutdown

On 'America's Newsroom,' Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte blasts the Biden administration for what he calls a 'devastating' decision to halt the Keystone Pipeline.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said the Biden administration is pandering to "radical environmentalists" with the decision to shut down construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and encouraged him to reverse his decision.

"It is a misguided decision," he told "America's Newsroom" on Friday. "President Biden is really pandering to these radical environmentalists. 

Gianforte said the economic impact on Montana was "massive."

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"Not only do we lose hundreds of jobs, and this is the most economical and environmentally sensitive best way to get crude oil to market, but this Keystone Xl pipeline is a lifeline for rural Montana," he said. "It would have generated over $100 million a year in taxes to help us pay for schools, law enforcement, infrastructure. This is devastating. President Biden needs to reverse his decision."

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Biden signed an order to cancel the pipeline's construction permit in the name of battling climate change, but his decision drew criticism from both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border for killing thousands of jobs. The pipeline would carry oil in tar sands from Canada to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

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Gianforte also slammed Biden White House climate envoy John Kerry for claiming workers who might lose work in the oil and gas industry could find employment creating solar panels.

"We had crews on the ground burying pipe, building substations, capital was being invested," Gianforte said. 

"When this executive order came out, we had people packing up their lunch pails and going home. They were not going to another job."

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Gianforte also provided an update on Montana's progress in dispensing vaccinations, saying virtually all frontline healthcare workers and those in nursing homes would be vaccinated by the end of the week. In the meantime, he said he requested more vaccines from the Biden administration.