3 long-term consequences from Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone pipeline

President Donald Trump turned heads with his call for restarting the Keystone XL Pipeline. While the energy industry welcomes the new business-friendly administration, the Biden administration’s damage is not easily undone.

Keystone was a privately funded project constructing 1,200 miles of pipeline that would have brought 850,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta, Canada, to the U.S. Gulf Coast for refining. 

Because it would cross international borders, the U.S. State Department has permitting jurisdiction. In 2015, the Obama State Department approved the project, but President Obama, urged by Secretary of State John Kerry, denied the permits in the name of climate change.

A tanker truck trailer in a field along the Keystone XL pipeline route near Oyen, Alberta, Canada, on Jan. 27, 2021, alongside a picture of former President Joe Biden, who revoked the permit for the pipeline. (Getty Images)

Trump’s reversal resumed construction, but the project was still ongoing when Joe Biden was inaugurated, and on his first day he revoked the permission, putting more than a thousand people out of work.

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With Keystone back in the news, here are three long-term consequences Biden’s cancellation caused:

Trust in American Government is Damaged

Biden’s cancellation set an ugly and dangerous precedent. The parent company of Keystone XL did not apply for a permit from the Obama State Department, nor did they make a deal with Donald Trump. They reached an agreement with the U.S. government, whose full faith and credit was undermined by Biden.

Obama fueled the drama around Keystone XL by calling it "dirty" and invoking fear of climate change. This labeling could apply to any large-scale construction project: an airport, a nuclear plant, a refinery. Activist groups will always present their "science," and outrage over "climate justice" can persuade a fickle future president to undo anything. 

President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama campaign in Philadelphia on Nov. 5, 2022. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)

That is the precedent Biden set. America’s word hinges on elections. 

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Government vs. Private Sector

Part of President Trump’s appeal is that he is not a career politician. He was a businessman and even more pertinent, he was a builder. The private sector understands financial risks in ways government never can. 

Look at the $2 billion grant Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made to liberal activist Stacey Abrams for a new climate nonprofit with zero staff and zero accomplishments. The organizations had only $100 in revenue, and yet it received a taxpayer investment 20 million times earnings. Such a windfall would never happen in the private sector.

Government operatives, whether agency bureaucrats or longtime elected officials, don’t understand the complexities of a project like Keystone. A lifelong politician himself, Biden’s cancellation didn’t come with a "bailout" by taxpayers. 

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Would any company take another risk on a costly project with green crusaders like California Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., looming as wannabe White House hopefuls?

The Jobs Risks

The personal sacrifice energy workers make for their jobs is often overlooked.  On a 1,200-mile pipeline there are no Zoom meetings, working from home or even a commute home. You live at a camp, or many of the older workers have trailers or campers, and you travel with the project.

Like all construction jobs with an end date, skilled workers are lining up their next projects in advance. There were workers on Keystone who had five years of projected employment, but after Biden’s actions, lost everything at the hands of a guy who called himself "Scranton Joe." 

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Unlike today’s maelstrom of coverage over the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) bringing accountability to government bureaucrats, there was no sympathy or support from the mainstream media. No fawning "60 Minutes" segment or weepy CBS story of a park ranger who lost his "dream job." 

The Keystone XL workers were necessary casualties in Biden’s effort to save the planet. 

Even with Trump in charge, government needs to win back the trust of industry. The federal government could sign an agreement that a cancellation of a project would lead to a refund of costs. Congress could reclaim permitting jurisdiction from the executive branch through well-written legislation. 

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As a builder, Donald Trump understands the importance of infrastructure projects. The Alaska LNG pipeline will need more than a decade. Proposed LNG pipelines from Pennsylvania to New England will require at least five years. 

Businesses are thinking twice before putting billions of dollars on the line. Workers are taking a second look before taking a flyer on a project that a politician could cancel. These are not only the lessons of Keystone, but also the sad legacy of Joe Biden and the lasting damage he did to our country.

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