Activists wait to rally to protest the Keystone XL Pipeline in 2017. President-elect Donald Trump’s renewed interest in the pipeline faces a sharply different reality now than existed than when he first entered office. | Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

By Ben Lefebvre

11/20/2024 06:00 PM EST

Donald Trump is looking to revive the Keystone XL oil pipeline on his first day back in the White House, according to three people familiar with the president-elect’s plan, even though no companies are trying to build it anymore.

Trump believes declaring the 1,200-mile Canada-to-Nebraska crude project back on the table would drive the pro-oil message he delivered in his campaign, said people involved in the transition team discussions about the idea. Trump also wants to show he can defy President Joe Biden, who reversed Trump’s initial 2017 approval of the project, which was strongly opposed by the climate movement.

“It’s on the list of things they want to do first day,” said one of the people familiar with Trump’s plan, who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.