What happened to civility? Unity? A return to normalcy?
Though Biden has claimed he would be a “unifying” president, the reality is that he is being much more divisive than the previous administration.
In fact…
Biden hasn’t even been in office for 4 full months yet, and 21 states have *already* filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration.
Ouch!
Even President Trump looks far more unifying in comparison!
Trump did what was best for the American people.
Now… the states are waking up and realizing the disastrous policies that the Biden administration is attempting to impose.
Hence… the 21 state lawsuitl
More details below:
STATES SAY ‘NO TO JOE’: 21 Red States Sue Biden, Cabinet for Canceling Keystone Pipeline https://t.co/NUPkiZ2pfS
— Sean Hannity 🇺🇸 (@seanhannity) March 18, 2021
21 states sue Biden for revoking Keystone XL pipeline permit https://t.co/XmM9QSkUCh
— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) March 18, 2021
21 states sue Biden for revoking Keystone XL pipeline permit
Led by the attorneys general of Texas & Montana, the states argued in their complaint the president exceeded his authority when he issued his executive order January 20 revoking permits
to oil pipeline pic.twitter.com/WSbkD8cqNs— 🦅 Eagle Wings 🦅 (@CRRJA5) March 19, 2021
Biden has revoked the Keystone XL Pipeline.
These 21 states are suing Biden over that mandate.
It appears that Biden may have overstepped his presidential authority.
According to the Epoch Times:
A coalition of states has filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden and his administration over the president’s decision to revoke a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline.
Led by Texas and Montana, 21 states have jointly filed a lawsuit against Biden arguing that the president didn’t have the authority to unilaterally change an energy policy that Congress had set when he revoked the permit on his first day in office.
The lawsuit argues that only Congress has the power to regulate interstate and international commerce, including granting or rejecting permits for oil pipelines that cross an international border.
“Since his first day in office, President Biden has made it his mission to undo all the progress of the previous administration, with complete disregard for the Constitutional limits on his power. His decision to revoke the pipeline permit is not only unlawful but will also devastate the livelihoods of thousands of workers, their families, and their communities,” Paxton said in a statement on March 17.
“This administration continues to tout imaginary green-energy jobs, without any recognition that their actions in the real world will make it impossible for hard-working Americans to put food on the table.”
The 1,200-mile Keystone XL, which was to be constructed as an extension to an existing pipeline system, was designed by TC Energy Corp. to transport approximately 830,000 barrels of oil from Canada and Montana to junctions in the middle of America and to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The permit to construct a 1.2-mile segment of the pipeline that was revoked had been approved by President Donald Trump in 2019.
The oil sands pipeline’s construction and operation were modeled to create and sustain thousands of jobs and advance the United States’ energy independence. It was also designed to improve commercial relations with Canada and provide tax revenues to high-poverty areas.
In his executive order signed in January, Biden said the revocation was necessary because the pipeline “disserves the U.S. national interest.”
“The United States and the world face a climate crisis,” the order stated. “At home, we will combat the crisis with an ambitious plan to build back better, designed to both reduce harmful emissions and create good clean-energy jobs. Our domestic efforts must go hand in hand with U.S. diplomatic engagement. Because most greenhouse gas emissions originate beyond our borders, such engagement is more necessary and urgent than ever.
“Leaving the Keystone XL pipeline permit in place would not be consistent with my administration’s economic and climate imperatives,” Biden added.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen argued that there is no “perceived environmental benefit to [Biden’s] actions.”
“His attempt to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline is an empty virtue signal to his wealthy coastal elite donors. It shows Biden’s contempt for rural communities in Montana and other states along the pipeline’s path that would benefit from and support the project,” Knudsen said in a statement.
Other critics have said that the ban wouldn’t stop oil from being produced, and that it would be transported by rail or truck instead of through the pipeline.
The states argue that Biden hadn’t consulted with them before making his decision, “nor did he consider the far-reaching consequences his decision would impose on Plaintiffs.”
“The pipeline States, as well as their counties, local communities, and school districts stood to gain tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue from the construction and operation of the Keystone XL. The total estimated property tax from the Keystone XL project in the first full year of operations would be approximately $55.6 million spread across 27 counties in just three States—Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska,” the lawsuit states (pdf).
“These revenues would particularly benefit poorer rural areas, providing a much-needed influx of resources to fund important public and community services.”
Revocation of the permit, the states continued, will cost them and their communities “tens of millions of dollars in annual tax revenue” and business and job opportunities for residents.
The states are asking the federal court in Texas to declare that the Biden administration had acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally when he revoked the permit and seek to block the Biden administration from enforcing its order to revoke the Keystone XL permit.
We don’t know about you, but to us, this is a bumpy start to the Biden administration.
Why in the world would he want to make us MORE dependent on foreign sources of energy?!
We have no idea.
Compare this to President Trump, who made the United States energy independent for the first time in decades!
A coalition of attorneys general from 21 states sued Pres. Biden and members of his administration for rescinding the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, seeking to undo the president's attempt to effectively halt the 1,200 mile-long project. https://t.co/AAGMGUHCHh
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) March 18, 2021
NEW: 21 states — led by Texas and Montana — are suing Biden over his executive order to rescind permits for the Keystone XL oil pipeline. https://t.co/kPM8h5Xcgu
— Axios (@axios) March 18, 2021
Let us be very clear…
This is NOT a Republican witch hunt.
Many of the states involved in the lawsuit have Democrat governors.
Why do we mention this?
Because this means that it is a BIPARTISAN lawsuit against the Biden administration.
That’s right: Biden has unified Americans against him.
The Hill has more details:
A coalition of states with Republican attorneys general sued President Biden on Wednesday over his decision to revoke a key permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
The lawsuit from 21 states, led by Texas and Montana, argues that revoking the cross-border permit is a “regulation of interstate and international commerce” that should be left to Congress and that Biden’s move was an overreach.
The Republican attorneys general also argued that the decision was arbitrary and capricious.
Some of the states represented in the lawsuit have Democratic governors, including Kentucky and Kansas, though all of them have Republican attorneys general.
“Cabinet Defendants’ actions … have the possibility of depriving States and local governments of millions of dollars in revenues. Yet, far from providing a reasoned explanation for why they are taking their actions, they have not provided any reason at all,” the suit states.
Republicans have long complained about Biden’s move on his first day in office to revoke the permit for the U.S.-Canada pipeline, while environmentalists cheered him on.
In a statement on the lawsuit, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R) called Biden’s cancellation of the permit “an empty virtue signal to his wealthy coastal elite donors.”
“The power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce belongs to Congress – not the President. This is another example of Joe Biden overstepping his constitutional role to the detriment of Montanans,” he added.
In his executive order revoking the permit, Biden argued that the pipeline “disserves” the U.S. national interest and that “leaving the Keystone XL pipeline permit in place would not be consistent with my Administration’s economic and climate imperatives.”
The proposed 1,200-mile pipeline would have carried oil from Canada to the U.S.
Its opponents argue that the country shouldn’t be importing oil that’s produced from carbon-intensive tar sands. Tribes have also expressed opposition, saying the Trump administration ignored their treaty rights when approving the pipeline.
Supporters, however, say the project would have brought jobs and revenue.
We have a feeling that this is one of many lawsuits that will be brought against the Biden administration.
Like we’ve said… it’s going to be a long four years.
But we must continue to stand up for conservative ideas and principles.
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