Republicans presidential candidates swiftly rebuked President Barack Obama’s decision to reject construction of the Keystone XL pipeline on Friday, while Democratic 2016 candidates were unified in voicing support for the administration’s call.
“The Obama Admin's politically motivated rejection of the Keystone XL Pipeline is a self-inflicted attack on the U.S. economy and jobs,” Jeb Bush tweeted.
"It's just a tug of war between environmentalists and job creators and enviros are winning and if I'm president they're not gonna win on this," John Kasich told NBC News.
Marco Rubio sent out a series of tweets outlining why Obama’s decision is “a huge mistake.”
Democrats, meanwhile, applauded Obama’s call in unison.
Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders have long opposed the pipeline’s construction, which they argue would increase greenhouse gas emissions. Hillary Clinton announced her opposition to the project in September.
“We have a moral and economic imperative to tackle climate change. Paving the way for something like the Keystone Pipeline would be a step backward, and I'm glad to see that President Obama and Secretary Kerry today are rejecting the Keystone permits,” O’Malley said in a statement.
