- Montana AG Austin Knudsen led a coalition of sixteen AGs calling on President Biden to reconsider his administration’s revocation of President Trump’s permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, reiterating that the decision continues to cause irreparable harm to Americans by displacing thousands of workers, increasing the country’s reliance on energy produced in Russia and the Middle East, and causing a decline in economic activity and opportunity.
- In a letter, the AGs noted that the administration’s decision has already harmed Americans by contributing to the record high gas prices and economy-wide inflation, which continue to strain American families. The letter also stated that the decision has impacted American allies, noting how European countries are unable to impose oil and gas sanctions on Russia without risking an economic recession, and that their continued, billion-dollar-a-day reliance on Russian oil and gas, the AGs claim, has funded Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- The AGs further asserted that additional pipeline capacity is unavailable without the Keystone XL pipeline and that, by revoking the permit, the administration has set a dangerous precedent for future permits and projects that would enhance the country’s energy security and independence and provide sustained economic opportunity to American energy workers.
- As previously reported, AG Knudsen joined Texas AG Ken Paxton in suing the Biden administration for revoking the Keystone Pipeline XL permit in March 2021. In January 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas dismissed the case, saying the suit had become moot after the pipeline’s developer said it would no longer pursue the project.