President Obama Plans To Quickly Veto Keystone XL Bill

The Republican passed Keystone XL will hit the president’s desk Tuesday morning. Obama is expected to quickly and quietly veto the bill in order to keep the heat on Republicans as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security looms.

The Hill reported:

President Obama is poised to reject GOP-backed legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline with a swift veto designed to minimize any distraction from a looming shutdown within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Republicans plan to send the bill to Obama’s desk Tuesday morning and intend to flay the president over his promised veto.

But quick action, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said, “eliminates any opportunity to take the focus off the bizarre things Republicans are doing on DHS and immigration orders.”

Republicans are going to try to use President Obama veto of Keystone XL to distract from the crisis of their own creation over the funding of Homeland Security, but that strategy is going to fail as the White House is going to issue their veto before Republicans can mount an offensive.

Congressional Republicans are fumbling in the dark while they desperately search for an out to the crisis that John Boehner created when he caved to the angry radicals in his caucus who demanded that the president’s executive action on immigration be stopped.

The president has the Republicans’ number, and he is not about to give them a get of jail free card by sitting on the Keystone XL bill and letting build a story out of nothing. Obama is going to quickly veto the bill. The president will issue a veto statement, and Republicans will be forced to hold a veto override vote that is already guaranteed to fail.

The great Republican Keystone XL offensive has failed, as Democrats have gained solidarity and momentum will battling the bill. The public supports Obama’s course of action, so at the end of the day the sum of the Republican efforts will amount to a vetoed bill and Homeland Security crisis of their own creation.

Republican control of Congress has thus far been an unproductive disaster of self-destruction.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association