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White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday that the administration would examine what’s motivating TransCanada’s request.

“Given how long it’s taken, it’s — it seems unusual to me to suggest that somehow it should be paused yet again,” Earnest said. Reaching a final decision on the project by the end of Obama’s second term remains “the current plan,” he said.

Oil Sands and the Environment: QuickTake

TransCanada Chief Executive Officer Russ Girling, on a Tuesday earnings conference call, said the company’s request to Kerry had nothing to do with politics. It was meant to let the outcome of a regulatory assessment of the pipeline in Nebraska be considered in the State Department’s review, he said.

“We’ve tried to stay out of the politics of this situation and focus on the things that we’re capable of doing and can control and that’s the regulatory process,” Girling said.

Supporters of the $8 billion pipeline from the tar sands near Alberta, Canada, have argued the project would create construction jobs and drive down oil prices, which are already down 42 percent over the last 12 months amid a glut of crude. Environmental activists, including top Democratic donors, have spent heavily in hopes of defeating the project, which they say would drastically increase emissions blamed for global warming.

While Republican presidential candidates have said they support the Keystone pipeline, the Democratic candidates said they oppose it.