Obama vetoes Keystone Pipeline

Most of us have probably heard of this already, but it seemed worth officially noting nonetheless. After the Keystone XL Pipeline bill passed the House and the Senate, Obama vetoed the bill yesterday—his third-ever veto in office. We should keep an eye out for how the media reacts to this throughout the week.

Read more at USA Today (or anywhere else, since everyone is covering it):

President Obama vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have approved the Keystone XL pipeline, making good on a threat to reject a proposal embraced by Republicans as a jobs measure but opposed by environmentalists as contributing to climate change.

"The presidential power to veto legislation is one I take seriously," Obama said in his veto message to the Senate. "But I also take seriously my responsibility to the American people. And because this act of Congress conflicts with established executive branch procedures and cuts short thorough consideration of issues that could bear on our national interest — including our security, safety, and environment — it has earned my veto."

It was only the third veto of his presidency, but likely to be the first in a series of vetoes as he parries a Republican-controlled Congress in the last two years of his presidency. The White House has already issued 13 formal veto threats so far this year — the most ever at this point in a new Congress since President Reagan first started issuing written veto threats in 1985.

. . .

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the president vetoed the bill almost as soon as it arrived at the White House, "without any drama or fanfare or delay."

An override of the Keystone veto is unlikely. The bill passed the House 270-152 and the Senate 62-36, margins well short of the two-thirds majorities needed to override. McConnell said a veto override vote will be scheduled by March 3.