President-elect Donald Trump has promised to restore the American energy industry when he returns to the White House in January 2025. Part of his plan includes reviving the Keystone XL pipeline. Supporters are thrilled.
“It’s a breath of fresh air. We’re running on cloud nine,” said Bugsy Allen, a former Keystone Pipeline worker, on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
Allen believes this move will lower energy costs, food prices, and gas expenses. “It is actually going to be the primary start of bringing everything… down for the American people that we have suffered so much in the last administration,” he added.
Trump originally approved the 1,200-mile Canada-to-Nebraska project in 2017. It reversed President Obama’s 2015 rejection of the pipeline. But in January 2021, President Biden canceled its permits, halting the project.
This decision led TC Energy, the pipeline operator, to abandon the project by June 2021. The shutdown left many workers, including Allen, jobless. “In the last three, four years… it’s been bad,” Allen said. “They canceled this, and not only the Keystone. They have canceled so many other ones.”
Allen expressed frustration, saying these actions have “hamstringed the American blue-collar workers.” He’s hopeful for a turnaround under Trump’s leadership.
A December 2022 Department of Energy report outlined the potential benefits of the Keystone XL pipeline. It estimated the project could have created between 16,149 and 59,000 jobs and had an economic impact of $3.4-9.6 billion. A 2014 federal report predicted 3,900 direct jobs and 21,050 total jobs during construction.
Critics of Biden’s decision argue it contributed to higher gas prices and reduced energy security. Republican lawmakers and energy industry representatives have been vocal about the missed opportunities.
Trump has been outspoken against Biden’s green energy policies. As part of his energy plan, he’s nominated North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as Interior Secretary to lead the effort.
“The American people [are] going to see the difference between – day and night – what energy will do for a country and what no energy will do,” Allen said.
“I hope and pray that the people will have their eyes enlightened and see that electric is not just all that great. It’s good, but oil and gas is the main driver of any country. And Trump is fixing to show this in the next four years,” he concluded.