Montana Senator Jon Tester Hobnobs With Green Energy Activist Who Helped Kill Keystone Pipeline

Tester stated that the pipeline would have provided ‘energy independence’ and ‘big benefits’ for the state.

Montana senator Jon Tester mourned the loss of Keystone XL and the thousands of rural jobs it would have brought, held a Silicon Valley fundraiser, attended by a green activist who helped end the pipeline.

Tester’s Monday night Silicon Valley soirée—which Cost up to $6,600 to attend—counted Natural Resources Defense Council board member Nicole Lederer as a sponsor. The council Multiple times sued Trump’s administration delayed the Keystone Pipeline Project until President Joe Biden cancelled it within days of his election in January 2021. The success of the council was remarkable “takedown” Keystone is its Website says, “will go down as one of this generation’s most monumental environmental victories.” Lederer personally sabotaged the project and wrote in a Huffington Post Column Keystone “is against the best interest of our country” This would be a great idea. “very few jobs.”

Tester’s willingness of Lederer to have a drink with him contradicts the Democrat’s public support for the pipeline. There are hundreds of construction jobs in Big Sky Country—jobs that Tester himself “would have yielded big benefits for our state.” Tester promised to “keep fighting to create jobs in rural Montana” After the pipeline was shut down, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) was formed. Openly proclaims Its work to stop oil and gas extraction from Montana and other northern states is a major part of its mission. This industry Support According to the Montana Petroleum Association there are over 29,000 Montana jobs.

The Tester campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment. Lederer is based in Palo Alto (Calif.) and serves as chair An environmental non-profit that is a Natural Resources Defense Council Partner. Contributed Campaign finance records show that Tester’s campaign received more than $11,000 before the Monday fundraiser. Lederer’s non-profit claimed it was not involved in the fundraiser “in any way, shape, or form” And did not comment further.

Lederer wasn’t the only one who was controversially present at the Palo Alto event. Silicon Valley Bank’s legal team partners Lederer Also sponsored The fundraiser was held just three days following the bank’s collapse, the second-largest in American history.. Senator Banking Committee member Tester has been criticized by liberals for voting for a 2018 bill that would have reduced regulations for mid-sized banks such as Silicon Valley Bank. The vote has not been addressed by Tester.

Tester’s Silicon Valley fundraiser is also held days after the Washington Free Beacon Find it That the Democrat has spent More than a million dollars At swanky restaurants, such as one Washington, D.C. establishment that boasts its “ambiance and luxury” Status as a meeting spot “senators, congressmen, celebrities, and powerbrokers.” Tester, who calls himself a “tireless defender of rural America,” He insisted that he preferred to eat meat from Montana’s farm rather than go out for dinner in 2012. “At the end of the long day, I am happier not going out [to eat],” Tester stated. “Taking meat with us is just something that we do. We like our own meat.”

Who is Tester? launched As Senate Republicans try to secure a majority in the upper house, they are considering his 2024 reelection bid as a top target. The party did well in the 2020 Montana statewide races, with Republicans Steve Daines (Republican) and Greg Gianforte winning double-digit victories in their respective campaigns for governor and senator.