‘The Squad’ will protest the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota on Friday

On Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex (D-NY), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), also known as “The Squad,” will travel to Minnesota to protest the replacement of the aging Line 3 oil pipeline with a newer, safer model.

Rep. Omar and Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), along with many other Minnesota lawmakers, penned a letter to the Biden administration urging them to intervene on the pipeline replacement. However, doing so would be a massive mistake for President Biden.

The Biden administration is already struggling with high gas prices. In fact, the administration even begged OPEC to pump more oil to put downward pressure on prices at the pump. OPEC declined, embarrassing the administration and leaving drivers in the lurch.

Intervening in the pipeline construction project would only exacerbate Biden’s oil woes. Once completed, Line 3 will transport approximately 760,000 barrels of oil per day, more than the United States imported from Saudi Arabia in 2019.

The completion of the Line 3 replacement project is the best way to increase America’s access to Canadian oil supplies, which will make North America less reliant upon imports from OPEC. Appeasing the Squad and scuttling the project would be a big step backward for providing the oil we rely on in the most affordable, reliable and safest way possible.