WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 17: The sun begins to rise behind the U.S. Capitol building on the morning after a bipartisan bill was passed by the House and the Senate to reopened the government and raise the debt limit, on October 17, 2013 in Washington, DC. President Obama signed the bill into law, that will fund the government until January 15, 2014 and allow the government to pay bills until February 7, 2014.
Senate fails to override veto of Keystone pipeline bill
01:44 - Source: CNN
Washington CNN  — 

Senate supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline failed to override President Barack Obama’s veto of their legislation that would have cleared construction of the project.

Needing two-thirds of the Senate, or 67 votes, to turn back the veto, Senate Republicans, joined by eight centrist Democrats, got only 62.

READ: Obama rejects Keystone XL bill

It was a defeat for business minded senators who believe the project – which would deliver oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico – would create thousands of jobs and help ease U.S. dependence on energy from hostile nations. They are frustrated the administration’s review process has taken several years.

“President Obama chose deep-pocketed special interests over the middle class with his partisan veto of the Keystone jobs bill,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said before the vote.

But it was a victory for environmentally focused Democrats who argue the government should not help facilitate the continued reliance on greenhouse gas causing fossil fuels.

“The Senate and President Obama have sent an important message that the United States finally is listening to the scientific community and recognizing that global warming poses a real threat to our planet,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats. “At a time when we should be doing everything we can to promote the development of clean sources of energy, it would have been crazy to let a Canadian oil company ship some of the dirtiest oil on the planet across the United States.”

It was the first time in President Barack Obama’s term that the Senate, which until January was controlled by Democrats, attempted an override of a veto. In fact, Keystone was only the third veto Obama has issued in his 6 years in office

The override vote was originally scheduled for Tuesday but one or more Democrats forced a delay through a filibuster so the vote was pushed back to Thursday. But with up to 8 inches of snow expected in the nation’s capital overnight, Senate leaders moved the vote up.

After the vote, senators were free head to the airports and leave early for their weekends.