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Former TransCanada executive Dennis McConaghy, who has written a book on the Keystone XL pipeline saga, said the Calgary-based pipeline giant had successfully re-contracted all the available space on the pipeline, which should sufficiently satisfy the court of the viability of the pipeline.

Noting that former U.S. president Barack Obama had appointed Morris to the court, McConaghy said opponents of the pipeline had “shopped (the case) as best they could to find a pliant federal court judge who had some nexus to the project.”

Obama rejected Keystone XL before leaving office.

McConaghy said that, most likely, “TransCanada has been working steadily through the night with the Trump administration to decide what they’re going to tactically do.”

U.S. President Donald Trump, who approved a revived Keystone XL through an executive order in 2017, blasted the decision Friday. “It was a political decision made by a judge. I think it’s a disgrace,” he told reporters at the White House.

TransCanada did not indicate how it would proceed on Friday but the ruling is a blow to the company’s plans to begin construction early next year. TransCanada had been staging pipes and clearing vegetation along the route in Canada and the U.S.

“We have received the judge’s ruling and continue to review it. We remain committed to building this important energy infrastructure project,” the company said in an emailed statement.

It was a political decision made by a judge. I think it’s a disgrace U.S. President Donald Trump

Legal experts believe TransCanada has three avenues for the project. The State Department could try to address the deficiencies the judge indicated in the ruling, appeal the decision to a higher court, or Congress could try to pass a law enabling the project’s construction.