Breaking - TransCanada blinks, wants to suspend Keystone XL permit

This just in, from the Wall Street Journal: "The company behind the Keystone XL pipeline on Monday asked to suspend its U.S. permit application, throwing the politically fraught project into an indefinite state of limbo, beyond the 2016 U.S. elections."

Earlier today at the White House press briefing, spokesperson Josh Earnest stated that a decision would be made on the project before President Obama leaves office, i.e., possibly a year away.

Now it seems that TransCanada is blinking in the face of "an expected rejection by the Obama administration and low oil prices." A suspension of the permit would allow TransCanada to renew the permit process if a Republican wins the White House in 2017.

At Climate Hawks Vote, we've been scoring Keystone XL-related statements, both positive and negative, as core, because we consider the pipeline to be a test of leadership on climate.