A bill that would have approved the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline was defeated in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 59 to 41 Tuesday night.
The bill needed a supermajority, or 60 votes, to pass.
The defeat of the controversial oil pipeline is seen as a significant victory for most Democrats, but a major loss for Dem. Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana who spearheaded the efforts.
Senate has voted AGAINST the Keystone XL Pipeline by a margin of 55 yes to 41 no. pic.twitter.com/0O8DTXbofE
— Ryan Gorman (@GormoJourno) November 18, 2014
Finishing the Keystone pipeline would create 35 permanent operator jobs – and none in La. https://t.co/Va6mtptQoV pic.twitter.com/bFy2OeGhMS
— NPR News (@nprnews) November 18, 2014
The vote, which is the culmination of years of controversy over the project, was marked by protest.
Singing Native American carried out of senate chamber following 59-41 Keystone vote @CQnow
— CQEnergy (@CQEnergy) November 18, 2014
Two protests in Senate follow failed Keystone vote: lone man singing and four people chanting about Senate Dems blocking Keystone
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) November 18, 2014
Keystone protesters escorted out of Senate https://t.co/ArGLO9cnfM
— daveweigel (@daveweigel) November 18, 2014
A May 2014 Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 65 percent of Americans supported construction of the pipeline while 22 percent opposed it. Congressional Republicans are expected to take the issue to a vote once again next year when they take control of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
Photo by tarsandaction/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)