President Trump's first 100 days
- Congress OKs short-term spending bill, averting government shutdown over weekend
- Trump tells NRA: 'You have a true friend' in White House [video]
- Trump: National monuments a 'massive federal land grab'
- Local anti-Trump activists target state GOP elected officials
- Trump administration says Iran complying with nuclear deal
- Trump declares U.S.-Russia relations may be at 'all-time low'
- Gorsuch sworn into Supreme Court, restores conservative tilt
- U.S. strike on Syria is widely hailed, but angers Russia
- U.S. launches missile attack against Syria
- House intelligence committee chair steps aside
- White House says 'reality' changing with regard to Syria
- U.S. vows to uphold Russia sanctions until it respects pledges
- As GOP schism grows, Trump attacks fellow Republicans
- Trump revives threat to change libel laws
- Senate GOP needs Pence to break tie on family planning funds
- Trump administration seeks delay in ruling on climate plan
- Trump vows efforts to fight nation's opioid addiction crisis
- House sends bill to Trump blocking online privacy regulation
- House sends bill to Trump blocking online privacy regulation
- White House eyeing $18 billion list of social program cuts
- Watchdog to examine cost, security of Trump's Florida trips
- White House looks to bounce back after health care loss
- Trump signs legislation rolling back Obama-era regulations
- Trump's border wall with Mexico faces all kinds of obstacles
- Trump attacks conservative lawmakers over health bill
- Trump, GOP leaders pull troubled health care bill off House floor [video]
- Trump OKs Keystone pipeline, calling it 'great day' for jobs
- House GOP leaders delay vote on health care repeal bill
- Big GOP donors spending millions to stop Trump health care bill
- Trump feels 'somewhat' vindicated after Nunes intelligence briefing
- Comey: FBI probing Trump-Russia links, wiretap claims bogus
- GOP leaders propose health bill changes to help older people
- Trump to meet Iraqi premier as anti-IS policy takes shape
- Trump says Dems 'made up' allegations of Russia interference
- While Trump talks tough, U.S. quietly cutting nuclear force
- Trump says Germany owes 'vast sums' to NATO
- House panel gets Justice Department information about Trump's wiretap claim
- Trump would end subsidies for rural airline service
- Trump OKs changes in GOP health care bill, winning support
- President Trump, German Chancellor Merkel talk job training
- Trump's proposed budget features steep cuts to fund military, homeland security and aid veterans
- President Trump defends wiretapping claims at joint news conference with German Chancellor Merkel
- Trump budget cuts could cut $2 million of block grants for Chattanooga
- Trump pledges to fight 'terrible' court ruling blocking latest travel ban order [video]
- President Donald Trump speaks at rally in Nashville [video]
- Trump's first budget boosts military, cuts domestic programs
- Trump arrives at The Hermitage for historic visit to Andrew Jackson's home
- Trump announces challenge to Obama-era fuel standards
- White House meeting on Saudi underscores kingdom's influence
- President Trump to lay wreath at Andrew Jackson's 's tomb at Hermitage in Nashville
- Trump White House sees influence of shadowy 'deep state'
- Busload of local Trump supporters heading for president's Nashville rally
- Trump earned $153 million and paid $36.5 million in taxes in 2005
- 14 million would lose coverage under GOP plan, according to Congressional Budget Office
- Justice Department asks for more time on wiretapping evidence
- House committee wants evidence for Trump's wiretap claim
- Tax credits work differently in 'Obamacare' and GOP plan
- Trump administration dismissing congressional budget experts
- Trump on charm offensive with former rivals
- No more love for WikiLeaks from Trump after CIA hacked
- Trump's promises vs. the Republican plan on health care
- As president, Trump seeks answers on his own wiretap mystery
- New travel ban eases some legal questions but not all
- House GOP releases bill replacing Obama health care overhaul
- Trump tours private school in Florida, promoting choice
- Environmental programs face deep cuts under budget proposal
- Officials: New Trump order drops Iraq from travel ban list
- Trump looks to refocus his presidency in address to Congress
- Trump budget to increase defense spending by $54 billion
- Trump toasts nation's governors ahead of health care talks
- Trump condemns anonymous sources as staff demands anonymity
- White House bars major news outlets from gaggle
- A look at the legal path ahead for the Trump travel ban
- White House expects Justice crackdown on legalized marijuana
- Trump vows to fight 'epidemic' of human trafficking
- Conservatives learn dealing with Trump can be complicated
- Trump administration lifts transgender student bathroom guidance
- Millions targeted for possible deportation under Trump rules
- Trump Month Two: Talks on health care and on tax overhaul
- Trump praises new African American museum during first visit
- Trump denounces anti-Semitism in newly forceful condemnation
- Trump tries to move past controversies, toward legislating
- Revived by rally, Trump turns back to governing
- Outside of Washington, Trump slips back into campaign mode
- Trump gets out of Washington for campaign-style events
- Trump praises his 'fine-tuned machine,' says media dishonest
- Trump ushers in changes in Obamacare, could lead to higher annual deductibles
- A month into presidency, Trump prepares for a campaign rally
- Trump White House wrestles with a crush of crises
- Trump says U.S. will deal with North Korea 'very strongly'
- North Korean missile launch is Trump's latest test
- AP FACT CHECK: Are immigration raids result of Trump policy?
- Trump cites voter fraud in NH without providing evidence
- Trump says he might give travel ban a tweak or a makeover
- Trump responds to ruling on travel ban: 'SEE YOU IN COURT'
- U.S. appeals court refuses to reinstate Trump's ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations
- Trump says media 'doesn't want to report' extremist attacks
- White House expresses confidence travel ban will be restored
- U.S. judge temporarily blocks Trump's travel ban nationwide
- Trump moves to scale back financial regulations
- State Department says fewer than 60,000 visas canceled under Trump's order
- U.S. sanctions target two dozen people and companies in Iran following ballistic missile test
- Trump pledges to end political limits on churches
- Congress scraps Obama rules on coal mining, guns
- Trump tweets that Iran is 'on notice' for firing missiles
- Trump to Mexico: Take care of 'bad hombres' or U.S. might
- Trump praises Douglass, other famous African Americans
- Trump honors fallen Navy SEAL during unannounced trip
- Speaker defends Trump's order, warns of protests
- Local attorneys see widespread confusion over Trump's immigration order
- Trump supporters say they are happy with immigration order
- Veterans protest travel ban, saying it hurts interpreters
- Trump fires acting attorney general over executive order defiance
- White House: Immigration order 'small price' for safety
- Corker, Alexander call Trump's immigration ban 'poorly implemented' and 'confusing'
- Judge grants temporary stay after Trump immigration ban
- Trump's crackdown on refugees, citizens from 7 majority-Muslim countries takes effect
- Trump signs 'new vetting measures' to guard against terror
- Trump wants to slash EPA workforce and budget, official says
- Trump will pay for border wall with 20 percent tax on Mexican imports, spokesman says
- Trump poised to seek new military options for defeating IS
- Trump signals changes to U.S. interrogation, detention policy
- Trump calls for probe into unsubstantiated voter fraud claim
- Draft order would halt refugee processing for Syrians
- Trump intends to announce his Supreme Court pick on Feb. 2
- Trump warns he's ready to 'send in the Feds' to Chicago
- Trump moves to build border wall, cut sanctuary city funds
- EPA contract freeze, media blackout leave states confused
- Trump dogged by insecurity over popular vote, media coverage
- Trump moving forward with border wall, weighs refugee cuts
- Trump expands anti-abortion ban to all U.S. global health aid
- President Trump moves to advance Keystone XL, Dakota Access oil pipelines
- Trump administration places horse 'soring' ban on hold
- Trump tries to streamline manufacturing permits
- Trump moves to pull U.S. out of big Asia trade deal
- White House kicks off first full work day with daily briefing [video]
- Trump freezes new regulations until his administration can review them
- Trump signs first executive order
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump greenlighted the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline on Friday, declaring it a "great day for American jobs" and siding with energy advocates over environmental groups in a heated debate over climate change.
The presidential permit comes nearly a decade after Calgary-based TransCanada applied to build the $8 billion pipeline, which will snake from Canada through the United States. Trump's State Department said the project advances U.S. national interests, in a complete reversal of the conclusion President Barack Obama's administration reached less than a year-and-a-half ago.
"It's a great day for American jobs and a historic moment for North America and energy independence," Trump said, standing alongside TransCanada's CEO in the Oval Office. Keystone will reduce costs and reliance on foreign oil while creating thousands of jobs, he said, adding: "It's going to be an incredible pipeline."
The decision caps the long scientific and political fight over a project that became a proxy battle in the larger fight over global warming. And Friday's decision, while long foreshadowed by Trump's public support for Keystone, represents one of the biggest steps to date by his administration to prioritize economic development over environmental concerns.
TransCanada, Trump said, can now build Keystone "with efficiency and with speed." Though it still faces other major hurdles, including disputes over the route, the president said the federal government was formulating final details "as we speak."
The 1,700-mile (2,735 kilometers) pipeline, as envisioned, would carry oil from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. It would move roughly 800,000 barrels of oil per day.
Environmentalists, Native American groups and landowners who've opposed Keystone expressed outrage, and Greenpeace said the U.S. was "moving backwards" on climate and energy policy.
"Keystone was stopped once before, and it will be stopped again," vowed Annie Leonard, the group's U.S. director.
Obama in 2015 rejected the pipeline after years of study, saying it would undercut U.S. credibility in the international climate change negotiations that culminated later that year in a global deal in Paris. He echoed the argument of environmental groups that Keystone would encourage use of carbon-heavy tar sands oil, contributing heavily to global warming.
Relying mostly on the same information, the Trump administration reversed Obama's decision Friday.
In a lengthy report, the State Department alluded to the Paris deal as one reason. Because many other countries have pledged to address climate change, it said Keystone can proceed without undermining the overall effort to slow global warming. The Paris agreement compels the U.S. and other countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions in coming decades.
Keystone would strengthen U.S. energy security by increasing access to Canada's "dependable supply of crude oil," said the State Department, which had jurisdiction because the pipeline crosses the U.S.-Canada border.
But the level of those benefits has been the subject of exhaustive debate in recent years.
Obama argued the oil wouldn't stay in the U.S. because it would be exported after being processed in American refineries. TransCanada insisted Keystone "is not an export pipeline." Many energy experts insisted the truth was somewhere in between.
Environmental groups argued Canada's tar sands oil should stay in the ground. But Keystone's backers said that wouldn't happen even if the pipeline wasn't built. Without a pipeline, they said the oil would move by rail or truck, more dangerous methods which themselves contribute greenhouse gas emissions.
How many jobs Keystone will create is also widely disputed.
TransCanada promised as many as 13,000 construction jobs and Trump once predicted it "could be 42,000 jobs." The vast majority would be "indirect" jobs other industries gain from the influx of dollars and construction workers. Other estimates predict just a few thousand jobs, lasting only for the few years the pipeline is being built. And after that, only a few dozen workers would be needed to maintain the pipeline.
TransCanada CEO Russ Girling said Friday that thousands of people are "ready and itching to get to work."
Trump boasted as recently as this week that Keystone would be built with American steel, which he has required for new or expanded pipelines. But his administration has already given Keystone a pass. TransCanada has already acquired the steel for the project, and the White House has said it's too difficult to impose Trump's requirement on a project already under construction.
Although portions of Keystone are already built, it still faces obstacles to completion. In Nebraska, for example, the route must still be approved and opponents have repeatedly thwarted TransCanada's attempts to access the necessary land. A commission is expected to review the matter later this year.
Trump, told of the hiccup, pledged his help.
"Nebraska? I'll call Nebraska," he said.