AFL-CIO head Richard Trumka on Sunday voiced his criticism of President Joe Biden’s decision to revoke the permit of the Keystone XL Pipeline, a move that directly eliminates 11,000 jobs and could affect 60,000 more.
Trumka told “Axios on HBO” he thinks it was a mistake to halt the construction because it cost jobs and will cost more down the road. He added he thinks Biden acknowledges he made a mistake.
“I wish [Biden] hadn’t done that on the first day,” Trumka said of the Keystone XL Pipeline.
“It did and will cost us jobs in the process,” he continued. “I wish he had paired that more carefully with the thing that he did second by saying, ‘Here’s where we’re creating jobs. We can do mine reclamation. We can fix leaks. We can fix seeps and create hundreds of thousands of jobs doing that stuff.'”
Axios’ Jonathan Swan asked, “You think Biden realizes that was a mistake, that announcement?”
“I think so, yes,” Trumka replied.
Trumka went on to say he does not know whether or not Biden will cancel additional pipelines, but he said if he does that “it will be paired with job creation that will be greater than the number of jobs lost.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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