WATCH LIVE: Obama To Reject Keystone XL Pipeline In 11:45 ET Statement

President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about Afghanistan, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Obama announced that he will keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan when he leav... President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about Afghanistan, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Obama announced that he will keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan when he leaves office in 2017, casting aside his promise to end the war on his watch and instead ensuring he hands the conflict off to his successor. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) MORE LESS

UPDATE: Nov. 6, 2015, 11:21 AM ET

President Obama is scheduled to deliver an official announcement at the White House today at 11:45 a.m. ET.

Multiple outlets reported Obama would reject the controversial Keystone XL pipeline during the address. Vice President Biden is also scheduled to attend, a White House statement said.

The decision caps a 7-year saga that became one of the biggest environmental flashpoints of Barack Obama’s presidency.

Killing the pipeline allows Obama to claim aggressive action on the environment. That could strengthen his hand as world leaders prepare to finalize major global climate pact next month that Obama hopes will be a crowning jewel for his legacy.

Yet it also puts the president in a direct confrontation with Republicans and energy advocates that will almost surely spill over into the 2016 presidential election.

Ahead of the address, Obama was scheduled to meet with Secretary of State John Kerry at 11 a.m.

Watch the statement, via NBC News, live:

This post has been updated.

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Notable Replies

  1. Fucks? Nope, he’s fresh out.

  2. It would be awesome to reject KXL…

    Given its a Friday, I bet it is.

    It good news and the right choice, but for too many its bad because they believe a republican B.S…

  3. And cue the outraged sputtering from the right-wing nuts in 3…2…1…

  4. Oh. It’s only Keystone. I thought he was gonna announce an intervention for Ben Carson, before he hurts himself.

  5. Years after I rejected KXL, President Obama follows suit.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

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