A welder who was fired due to the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline is speaking out against President Joe Biden’s executive order to shut down the project, calling it “a slap in the face” for those in his industry.
“It’s a really good punch to the stomach, you know, like a slap in the face,” Lynn Allen, who has been a welder for 34 years, told Fox & Friends First on Wednesday. “That’s all you work for, what you work for your whole life, and that’s your calling in life, and they’re telling you to get another job and try to get green jobs.”
MANCHIN LETTER THINKS FOR BIDEN ASKING HIM TO REVERSE THE TERMINATION OF THE KEYSTONE XL TUBE
The welder and father of three told anchors Jillian Mele and Todd Piro that the effects of the project’s cancellation are being felt across the industry.
“The trickle effect of these pipelines and pumping stations due to this XL Keystone makes many people prosper,” said Allen. “I mean, from the owner to the welder, to the oil or gas company.”
The president signed an executive order in January revoking the March 2019 license for the Keystone XL pipeline. The project was expected to create some 13,000 high-paying union jobs in the U.S. and Canada, according to an October 2020 report.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked at a news conference on Monday how the government plans to help those who have been laid off or financially impacted by the cancellation.
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“Well, I would certainly like you to present your data for all the thousands and thousands of people who will not get a green job,” said Psaki to Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy.
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For Allen, the loss of a job and what it will mean for the family weighs heavily on his mind. “I think about it every day,” he said.