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Senators Jon Tester of Montana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia went back and forth regarding support for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, according to The NY Post.
The Democratic Senators defied President Biden’s decision to stop the Keystone XL oil pipeline but hen retracted their decision.
First the Dem. Senators voted to support a Republican amendment that held support for the pipeline in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer brought forth an amendment that removed the Keystone XL provision as well as two others.
Tester and Manchin voiced their support for the Schumer amendment, ultimately reversing their earlier votes in favor of the pipeline.
Vice President Kamala Harris supports Schumer’s amendment.
Sen. Steve Daines sponsored the Keystone pipeline amendment.
“Early this morning while the American people were asleep, Senate Democrats chose to flip flop on their support for my Keystone XL pipeline amendment, as well as @SenatorBraun’s amendment to support fracking,” Daines tweeted.
“They thought they could get away with it while the American people were asleep. Folks will know that when it came down to it, every single Senate Democrat chose to stand with the job-killing, Green New Deal radicals over American union jobs and blue-collar workers,” An aide to Daines said.
“For those representing Western states and for those that flip-flopped on their support, you’ll have some explaining to do, not just on your opposition to the pipeline and fracking, but for your misleading attempt to pull a fast one to protect a partisan, far-Left agenda.”
“Senator Tester has and continues to support the Keystone Pipeline, and any statement to the contrary is incorrect. He has consistently fought for the project for a decade, and just this week met with President Biden and directly reiterated his support for the pipeline’s construction in Montana,” Feldman said.
“In the only vote directly on the Keystone pipeline last night, Senator Tester joined his Republican colleagues to support it. Ultimately, last night’s votes were about passing COVID relief for Montana families, workers, and small businesses, and Senator Tester supported a final resolution that would allow that critical relief to move forward so we can get Montana’s economy back on track.”
“Senator Tester voted for the substitute amendment—that’s the COVID relief bill without the non-germane amendments included—to allow the package to move forward.”
More from New York Post:
Manchin did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
— Advertisement — Tester spokeswoman Sarah Feldman denied that he flip-flopped on the Keystone pipeline. She said he supported the pro-pipeline amendment but then supported Schumer’s amendment removing it because reconciliation rules forbid non-germane items.
