(Associated Press) The battle over Louisiana’s contested U.S. Senate seat moved to the Capitol on Thursday as House Republicans moved toward a vote this week on long-stalled legislation to force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline as a political gambit by endangered Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of GOP-dominated Louisiana appeared on its way to fruition.
Landrieu is an underdog to win a fourth term in a runoff next month with GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy. She’s a supporter of the Canada-to-Texas pipeline but was unable to win a vote on it, which has been a flash point in her race. Cassidy’s version recently passed the House and GOP leaders immediately scheduled another vote on it for Friday.
The Keystone XL issue was an unexpected addition to a lame-duck Congressional agenda focused on keeping the government running past a Dec. 11 deadline.
