Politics

2,300 Days: Reporters Laugh At White House Over Keystone Veto [VIDEO]

Derek Hunter Contributor
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Mark Knoller of CBS News asked White House press secretary Josh Earnest a simple question at the press briefing regarding President Barack Obama’s veto of the Keystone XL pipeline — what’s taking so long?

Knoller asked, “Does President Obama believe that 2300 days is a reasonable length of time for the State Department to conduct an evaluation?”

Final presidential approval of the pipeline, first proposed in 2008, has faced years of delays because of “studies” conducted by various governmental departments and because the Obama administration chose to halt those studies while environment lawsuits worked their way through the courts.

Earnest joked about the exceedingly long timeline, saying, “Well, I think it’s certainly fair to suggest that the State Department is conducting an in-depth review,” to which reporters laughed. He then went on to suggest that now, after all the legal challenges have been finalized, the State Department can finally evaluate the final proposal.

There was no word on how long that would take.

Knoller followed up with Earnest by asking, “Could you imagine what he (Obama) would say if he gave you an assignment and you said ‘I’ll get back to you in 2300 days?'”

“I can’t,” Earnest responded. “I can’t.”

The reason for the veto, according to the president’s statement, is because the bill “attempts to circumvent longstanding and proven processes” for such approvals, and “conflicts with established executive branch procedures…”

Currently Senate Democrats are filibustering Republican attempts to block the president from implementing amnesty for upwards of 5 million illegal aliens he ordered through executive action, circumventing longstanding and established legislative branch procedures of passing and changing laws.

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[h/t Free Beacon]