President Trump to Announce XL Pipeline Approval Friday Morning

White House Press Secretary announced Friday that the president will be making an announcement on the Keystone XL Pipeline later Friday morning.

Reports say President Trump will announce approval of the pipeline alongside TransCanada Corp CEO Russell Girling and North American Building Trades Union President Sean McGarvey.

The pipeline had been mired in bureaucratic red tape for years under the Obama administration that took Trump just 54 days to unravel.

Expedited approval of projects is part of Trump’s approach for a 10-year, $1 trillion infrastructure package he promised on the campaign trail. The White House is looking for ways to speed up approvals and permits for infrastructure projects, which can sometimes take years to go through the maze of regulatory requirements.

XL will allow the flow of Candian crude oil to refineries along the Gulf Coast once completed, but it still faces state-level regulatory hurdles and legal challenges.

The pipeline, the increased business to communities along the construction route and the support companies that derive business from the pipeline could create more than 40,000 jobs.