Brad Plumer in Vox: “The company trying to build the controversial Keystone XL pipeline has given up all hope that President Obama will approve the project — and wants a final decision delayed until after the 2016 election.”

“In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, the pipeline firm said it has just filed an application with Nebraska’s energy regulator over a new route, and that review process is expected to take 7 to 12 months. In the meantime, TransCanada wants the State Department to pause its own ongoing review.”

“One obvious possibility here is that TransCanada officials believed Obama was getting ready to kill the pipeline — so they’re making a last-ditch maneuver to postpone any any final decision until after the next election.”

“Obama could come out and say, nope, I’m rejecting this pipeline right here and now. Environmental groups like 350.org are currently urging him to do just that. A formal rejection would make life much more difficult for TransCanada. The company would either have to restart the difficult and costly application entirely from scratch — or, more likely, abandon the pipeline altogether.”

“Update: The White House said on Monday night that it still plans to make a final decision on Keystone XL before Obama leaves office.”