House Speaker John A. Boehner accused President Obama of “listening to … anarchists” in his threat to veto the bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, ahead of a final vote in Congress later Wednesday on the long-stalled project.
“We build pipelines all around American every single day,” Mr. Boehner said after a closed-door meeting with his GOP colleagues.
Mr. Obama has vowed to veto the pipeline, saying he wants to keep the final decision on whether to build Keystone for himself — though he has given no indication on when that decision, which has been pending for more than five years, might come.
The bill passed the Senate last month and will go to the House for final approval Wednesday afternoon. Polling shows the project popular with the public, and it has support from some labor unions who usually back Mr. Obama but who say the pipeline is safe and good for jobs.
Environmentalists, who make up another important part of the president’s political coalition, say they fear the pipeline will solidify fossil fuels as part of the U.S. economy, which they view as a step back in their fight against climate change. They have declared Keystone to be a key test of his commitment to their issues.
That prompted Mr. Boehner to say Mr. Obama’s priorities were misplaced.
“Instead of listening to the people, the president is standing with a bunch of left-wing extremists and anarchists,” Mr. Boehner said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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