Keystone Pipeline May be Decided by Next President

BRADENTON – The company backing the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline asked the State Department to suspend the review of its federal permit application on Monday. The request could act to delay a final decision on the pipeline beyond President Obama’s remaining time in office.

The Washington Post reported that sources close to the Obama administration have said that the President is planning to reject a cross-border permit for the project which would transport tar sand oil from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries.

The pipeline, which has become a touchstone issue in the environmental movement, has been divisive with most Americans falling along partisan lines. Republicans overwhelmingly support it (including every single candidate seeking the party's 2016 nomination), while a majority of Democrats oppose it.

Indeed, the company may be looking to roll the dice, assuming that should a Republican win the White House in 2016, the project, which has been in the works for nearly a decade, will finally come to fruition.

Hilary Clinton, who leads in the polls for the Democratic nomination, has been criticized for strongly supporting the project while Secretary of State and then opposing it as a Presidential Candidate.

Clinton's history with the project is deeply convoluted and could present a problem with her among progressives who tend to favor Senator Bernie Sanders, who has opposed the pipeline vigorously from the start.