--- title: Hillary Clinton Keystone Pipeline: She Announces Opposition description: Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday she opposes the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline canonical: https://time.com/4045344/hillary-clinton-keystone-pipeline-decision/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-22T20:48:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-14T01:43:41.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Hillary Clinton Opposes Keystone Pipeline og:description: She had delayed taking a position on the controversial oil pipeline. og:url: https://time.com/4045344/hillary-clinton-keystone-pipeline-decision/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0bf9182aa6d1f0a/698864b835ba6f9a25c0f472/hillary-clinton-healthcare.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks on stage during the New Hampshire Democratic Party Convention at the Verizon Wireless Center on September 19, 2015 in Manchester, New Hampshire. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hillary Clinton Opposes Keystone Pipeline twitter:description: She had delayed taking a position on the controversial oil pipeline. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0bf9182aa6d1f0a/698864b835ba6f9a25c0f472/hillary-clinton-healthcare.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Hillary Clinton Says She Opposes Keystone XL Pipeline > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=dec455af-8844-425c-92ea-26d221f44aa1&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Hillary Clinton's Top 10 Political Moments [Watch (HLS stream): Hillary Clinton's Top 10 Political Moments](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/L3I0gpwt.m3u8) (1:49)  _Published 2015-04-09. Watch the top 10 moments from Hillary Clinton's career in politics._ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Updated: Dec 14, 2023 1:43 AM UTCPublished: Sep 22, 2015 8:48 PM UTC Hillary made the statement while campaigning in Iowa by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Updated: Dec 14, 2023 1:43 AM UTCPublished: Sep 22, 2015 8:48 PM UTC Hillary Clinton said Tuesday she opposes the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, an announcement that comes after months of pressure from environmental groups and liberal voters and indecision from the White House. “I oppose it,” Clinton said while campaigning in Iowa in response to an audience member’s question. “I think it is imperative that we look at the Keystone Pipeline as what I believe it is—a distraction from the important work we have to do to combat climate change, and unfortunately, from my perspective, one that interferes with our ability to move forward to deal with all the other issues.” “And I oppose it because I don’t think it’s in the best interest of what we need to do to combat climate change,” Clinton added. Prominent environmentalists have been calling on the Democratic presidential candidate to oppose the pipeline for months, and her lack of a stance was a major point of difference between her and the other candidates in the Democratic primary, who mostly oppose it. Clinton initially seemed to favor the pipeline as secretary of state in 2010, but she has surrounded herself by staff and advisors like campaign chairman John Podesta known to strongly oppose the project. The Democratic frontrunner’s reluctance to strongly oppose the pipeline reflects the project’s diminished importance among environmentalists, who no longer see the pipeline as a make-or-break climate change issue. While early reports suggested the pipeline would greatly accelerate greenhouse gas emissions, subsequent research found much of the gas would likely be extracted from the Canadian tar sands anyway. **Read More:** [_Hillary Clinton Threads the Needle on Keystone Pipeline_](http://time.com/3975054/hillary-clinton-keystone-pipeline/) Still, progressives counted Clinton’s announcement as a victory. “This is a smart move by Sec. Clinton that shows she’s clearly listening to grassroots progressives on one of the major battles of our time,” said Neil Sroka, communications director for Democracy for America. Clinton has explained that as a former Secretary of State and member of the president’s Cabinet who helped weigh the effect of the pipeline, it would be wrong for her to comment on a decision that the White House had not yet made. In recent days, Clinton said that her own decision on the pipeline would be coming soon. The White House was briefed on Clinton’s position on the Keystone project before she made her comments on Tuesday, a Clinton aide said. “Now Clinton feels she owes it to the American people to make it clear where she stands on this issue,” the aide said. In a statement, one of Clinton’s rivals for the Democratic nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, applauded the decision in a backhanded way. “As a senator who has vigorously opposed the Keystone pipeline from the beginning, I am glad that Secretary Clinton finally has made a decision and I welcome her opposition to the pipeline,” he said. “Clearly it would be absurd to encourage the extraction and transportation of some of the dirtiest fossil fuel on the planet.” Another rival, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, also sounded a triumphant tone and criticized Clinton for delaying her opinion. “On issue after issue—marriage equality, drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants, children fleeing violence in Central America, the Syrian refugee crisis, and now the Keystone Pipeline, Secretary Clinton has followed–not forged–public opinion,” he said in a statement. “Leadership is about stating where you stand on critical issues, regardless of how they poll or focus group.” Clinton has announced an ambitious climate proposal that would vastly increase the number of solar panels to half a billion by 2021 and said that she would put the United States on a path toward generating enough renewable energy to power every home in the country by 2027. ## Transcript [00:00] You know, I'm not [00:04] sittin' here some little woman standing here by my man [00:06] like Tammy Wynette. I'm sittin' here because I love [00:09] him, and I respect him. Now is our chance [00:13] to beat the historical odds, and give the American [00:16] people the health security they need. If there is one [00:19] message that echoes forth from this. Let [00:24] it be that human rights are women's rights and [00:28] women's rights are human rights once and for all. [00:33] The great story here for anybody willing to find it and [00:36] write about it and explain it is this vast right- wing [00:40] conspiracy that has been conspiring. Against my [00:43] husband since the day he announced for president. I [00:45] would be happy to, when you give me the signed [00:47] letters. Well, right here. Right here. When you give me. [00:49] Right here. Sign it right now. We'll shake. We'll shake [00:50] on this, Ray. No, no, I want your signature, cause I [00:53] think that everybody wants to see you signing [00:55] something that you said you were for. You know, I have [00:58] so many opportunities from this country. I just don't [01:01] wanna see us fall backwards. Although we weren't able [01:03] to shatter that [01:08] highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, [01:12] it's got about 18 million cracks in it. The [01:19] battle to stop Al Qaeda and its affiliates. Does [01:23] not end with one death. What difference, at [01:27] this point, does it make? It is our job to figure out what [01:31] happened and do everything we can to prevent it from [01:34] ever happening again, Senator. I took the [01:36] unprecedented step of asking that the state [01:39] department make all my work- related emails, [01:43] [ MUSIC ] Public for everyone to see. 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