Senate moves up Keystone veto override vote to Wednesday

The Senate will take a final vote on whether to override President Obama’s veto of legislation authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline on Wednesday, a day sooner than expected. 

Senators were expected to hold a cloture vote on Wednesday and a vote on final passage Thursday.

{mosads}Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the cloture motion was being withdrawn and that senators would hold a final vote at 2:30 p.m. 

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), however, objected to the time, asking for the vote to be held sooner, at 2:20 p.m. instead. 

“Any way you could change that to 2:20 from 2:30? There are four people who could make planes otherwise,” he said to McConnell on the floor. 

The Keystone vote at 2:20 p.m. will be the final vote for the Senate this week. The House has canceled Thursday’s session ahead of an expected snowstorm. 

Supporters of the pipeline are unlikely to win the 67 votes necessary to override Obama’s veto.