Attorney General Steve Marshall, on behalf of the State of Alabama, has joined 20 other state attorneys general in filing suit to block President Joe Biden’s attempt to kill the Keystone XL pipeline project.
The multistate lawsuit led by Montana and Texas was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Marshall released a statement on Thursday regarding Alabama’s involvement, with his office blasting Biden’s unilateral action as “unconstitutional.”
“Hours after being sworn into office, President Biden revoked the Keystone XL pipeline permit through an executive order despite having no legal grounds to do so,” stated Marshall.
“The president is not constitutionally empowered to cancel the international contract, and his illegal action will cost numerous jobs in Alabama and over 40,000 jobs nationwide, needlessly harming our nation’s workers, energy independence, and security,” he continued.
The lawsuit stresses that only Congress has the legal authority to approve or cancel the pipeline permit.
“The 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,” the suit reads, adding, “President Biden’s decision to revoke the Keystone XL permit exceeded the scope of his authority under Article II of the Constitution.”
The 21-state coalition is asking the court to declare Biden’s executive order canceling the Keystone XL pipeline’s cross-border permit unconstitutional and unlawful and seeks to prevent the Biden administration from taking any action to enforce the permit revocation.
Approximately 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day would be transported through the pipeline, ensuring a reliable domestic and global energy source, bolstering U.S. energy independence and global leadership. An estimated 42,100 jobs with $2 billion in associated earnings throughout the country would be created.
Marshall previously sent a letter to the Biden administration urging a reversal of the president’s Keystone XL permit revocation. Biden’s actions on the project have caused significant pushback from Alabama’s congressional delegation.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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