Trump signs executive orders making it harder to block pipelines

While in Texas on Wednesday, President Trump signed two executive orders that will make it easier for companies to build oil and gas pipelines.

At the same time, the orders make it more difficult for state agencies to intercede in the projects. Oil and gas companies have been complaining about delays in building pipelines, and Trump said his orders "will fix this, dramatically accelerating energy infrastructure approvals." He blamed "special interest groups, entrenched bureaucracies, and radical activists" for the delays.

One of the orders requires the Department of Transportation to change its policies so liquified natural gas can be shipped by rail and tanker truck, and also "seeks to limit shareholder ballot initiatives designed to alter companies' policies on environmental and social issues," The Washington Post reports. The second order says that the president is the only person responsible for approving or rejecting pipelines and other infrastructure that cross international boundaries; previously, this fell on the secretary of state.

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Gov. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) called this a "dangerous attack" on the government, and said his state will challenge Trump. "No amount of politicking will change the facts — states have full authority under the Clean Water Act to protect our waters and ensure the health and safety of our people," he said in a statement. "Washington will not allow this or any presidential administration to block us from discharging that authority lawfully and effectively."