With her political life in peril and possibly hinging on Senate passage Tuesday of a bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, Sen. Mary Landrieu and other pipeline supporters remain one vote shy of the 60 needed for approval, Bloomberg reports.
Aides to four Senate Democrats whose votes have been courted by Keystone supporters say the lawmakers—Chris Coons of Delaware, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Mark Udall of Colorado and Tim Johnson of South Dakota—would oppose the bill, shrinking the reservoir of available support.
Coons “believes it’s the administration’s decision to make and that it’s not Congress’s job to issue construction permits,” says his spokesman, Ian Koski. “He’s incredibly frustrated by how long it’s taking the administration to make this decision, but he plans to vote against the straight authorization the Senate will consider.”
Landrieu, a three-term Democrat, faces a Dec. 6 runoff against Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy, and Tuesday’s Keystone vote is intended to help her win re-election. Landrieu has consistently trailed Cassidy in polls leading up to the runoff. A Senate aide said on Nov. 14 that Keystone backers had secured 59 votes for the measure, and Bloomberg notes no senators have publicly said they favor the bill since then.
Landrieu told reporters last week she was confident the measure would pass and faulted party leaders for not allowing a floor vote sooner. The House on Friday passed by a 252-161 vote an identical bill sponsored by Cassidy. Thirty-one Democrats voted for it. Read the full story.
