GOP 2016 candidates say they'll reverse Obama's Keystone decision

It took President Obama years to make a decision about the Keystone XL pipeline, but the Republicans competing to replace him say they're ready to reverse his move.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, called Mr. Obama's decision to reject the pipeline a "huge mistake" and slammed the president for catering to "radical environmentalists."

Asked whether he would do the same as Rubio, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said on Fox Business Network, "I agree, absolutely."

Mr. Obama said that approving the pipeline would have "undercut" America's position as a global leader on the issue of climate change, but Bush said rejecting it is "not going to change anything about the environment." Arguing that Canada will now ship its tar sands to China or Europe, rather than to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries, Bush said, "the irony is the carbon footprint will be bigger" as a result of Mr. Obama's decision.

Construction of the pipeline was only expected to create around 50 permanent jobs. Still, Bush said the project was "yet another possible place where investment would have taken place to create jobs, long-term jobs, and construction jobs."

• Obama rejects Keystone XL pipeline

During a town hall in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, Ohio Gov. John Kasich said that blue collar workers "got the shaft. The environmentalists got what they wanted, and they got the shaft."

Kasich said that Ohio has been able to develop renewable energy without making extreme decisions, reducing emissions within its borders by 30 percent over the last 10 years. "But the decision the president made...went with the environmental extremists," he said. "This is a big mistake, but if I'm president it will all be reversed."

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told reporters in New Hampshire, "My position's always been pretty consistent, I'm for building the pipeline. If I'm president of the United States, if the folks are still interested in doing it, we'll build it."

Christie added that Mr. Obama's decision was "predictable." He added, "I wish he just would've been honest with everybody and done it a long time ago... Did anybody with any common sense believe that Barack Obama was ever really seriously considering the Keystone pipeline?"

Democrats, not surprisingly, commended the president's decision. Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton came out in opposition to the pipeline in September.

Sen. Bernie Sanders has differentiated himself from Clinton by noting his longtime opposition to the project.

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said in a statement, "We have a moral and economic imperative to tackle climate change," noting that one of his policy goals is to power the nation completely by renewable energy.

In:
• Jeb Bush
• Hillary Clinton
• Martin O'Malley
• Marco Rubio
• John Kasich
• Chris Christie
• Bernie Sanders
• 2016 Election