Nebraskans have mixed reactions after Trump floats reviving Keystone XL pipeline

LINCOLN, Neb. —

The Keystone XL pipeline could be back on the agenda, more than a decade after the controversial project put Nebraska at the center of a national debate over energy, property rights and environmental protection.

This week, President Donald Trump floated the possibility of reviving the pipeline as part of broader trade discussions with Canada.

The proposed pipeline was intended to carry Canadian crude oil through Nebraska and other states to refineries along the Gulf Coast. The project faced years of political and legal battles before President Joe Biden revoked its permit in 2021, effectively ending the project.

For some Nebraskans who supported Keystone XL, Trump’s comments bring back memories of a fight that once dominated state politics.

“It’s a walk down memory lane for certain,” said Jim Smith, a former Nebraska state senator and early supporter of the pipeline.

Smith described the Keystone XL debate as a “decade of kind of political warfare” but said it was and still is a smart plan with few downsides.

“It is in the country’s best interests, and it certainly is in Nebraska’s best interest that we move forward with ensuring that we have energy reliability, energy affordability,” Smith said.

The project drew strong opposition from environmental and indigenous groups, who raised concerns about potential spills, climate change and the pipeline’s impact on land and water.

Rep. Mike Flood was speaker of the Nebraska Legislature in 2011 when then-Gov. Dave Heineman called a special legislative session focused on the pipeline.

Flood supported Keystone XL then and continues to support the project, arguing that it would strengthen the economy.

“To unlock our GDP, we have to have energy independence,” Flood said. “We don’t want to rely on the Strait of Hormuz. We don’t want to rely on OPEC.”

But Flood also cautioned that reviving Keystone XL may be difficult after years of changing federal policy.

“We might be talking about something here that’s not even realistic from a business standpoint, given what we’ve seen happen with these permits,” he said.

Jane Kleeb, current chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and founder of the Bold Alliance, which organized opposition to the pipeline, said the project would face resistance again.

“It’s never being built,” Kleeb said in a statement this week. “Americans don’t want a foreign export pipeline using eminent domain on farmers and ranchers. We’ve killed Keystone XL three times. We will do it again. Trump should focus on infrastructure that will actually bring costs down.”

Randy Thompson, a retired rancher and farmer, also opposes a potential revival. Thompson said he was concerned about what the pipeline could mean for his family’s farm and other Nebraska landowners. He said his worries haven’t subsided.

“It’s really disappointing,” Thompson said. “They have no regard for the property rights of farmers and ranchers. We’re going to give a foreign company the use of eminent domain against Nebraska landowners.”

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