Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said Tuesday afternoon that he supported the administration’s pledge to veto new legislation from Congress that would fast-track construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
Earlier in the day, Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, confirmed that President Barack Obama would veto a pro-Keystone XL measure that new Republican majorities in Congress have made a top priority at the start of the latest session.
Hickenlooper said Obama, a fellow Democrat, was making the right call in opposing the U.S.-Canada oil pipeline.
“He has not been persuaded that this something in the best interest — long-term — of the United States,” Hickenlooper said. “I know there are a lot of people in Colorado who disagree with that (but) … with the price of oil down as low as it is, I don’t think the Keystone pipeline makes sense.”
Hickenlooper was in Washington this week for a series of meetings with Obama and other administration officials as part of his role as chair of the National Governors Association.
Earlier in the day, Hickenlooper gave a State of the States address at the National Press Club that emphasized innovations outside Washington.
With a new Congress taking the helm Tuesday, Hickenlooper said “we have a clean slate, a fresh start.”
“As the House and Senate and administration put their agendas together, we are asking them to look to the states,” he said. “Gridlock, too often, may be the norm here in Washington, D.C., but that does not hold true in the states.”
He highlighted various innovations in different states, noting Colorado’s teacher evaluation system, public-private toll roads, prescription drug abuse crackdown and regulation rollbacks.
A more amusing exchange came after the speech. Asked by a reporter about his chances at running for president in 2016, Hickenlooper responded jokingly that it was a “1 in 20,000″ chance.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican and NGA vice-chairman, didn’t skip a beat. “You mean there’s a chance?” he joked.
Hickenlooper laughed and then struck a serious tone. “I think it’s nil,” he said of his chance for a presidential bid.
