U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today issued the following statement after President Obama rejected the cross-border permit for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline project after a more than 2,600-day delay:

“After more than seven years of deliberate delay, President Obama today rejected a strongly-supported project that would create thousands of high-paying jobs, ensure a secure long-term source of energy from one of our closest allies, and serve as the cleanest and safest way to bring this energy into our country – according to analysis from his own State Department,” Murkowski said. “A decision this poorly made is not symbolic, but deeply cynical. It does not rest on the facts – it continues to distort them. It is a triumph of fringe politics over sound policy. And it sends a deeply negative signal to all who want to invest in America – because this Administration has yet again shown it is willing to stand in the way of robust growth and a secure future.”

Murkowski, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has long supported construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. In one of her first actions as chairman, Murkowski led Senate approval of S. 1, legislation to approve the cross-border permit for the Keystone XL project, through a bipartisan vote of 62-36. President Obama later vetoed the legislation.