Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced that Texas and Montana are filing a multistate complaint against the Biden administration for revoking the 2019 Presidential Permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. The lawsuit states that President Biden does not have the unilateral authority to change energy policy that Congress has set. The power to regulate interstate and international commerce, including granting or rejecting permits for oil pipelines that cross an international border, resides with Congress—not the President. 

“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,” Attorney General Paxton said. “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 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,” Attorney General Knudsen said. “There is not even a perceived environmental benefit to his 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.”

The complaint was filed by Texas Attorney General Paxton and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen in Texas federal district court. The suit is joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. ​ 

Read a copy of the filing here.