(Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday will veto legislation that would clear the way for the Keystone XL pipeline, his spokesman said, while not ruling out eventual White House approval of the project.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the bill was received from Congress on Tuesday and Obama will issue only the third veto of his presidency to reject it. He said it’s “certainly possible” that Obama would approve the pipeline once a State Department review of the project is completed.

“The president will keep an open mind,” Earnest said, without giving a timeline for a decision.

In passing the legislation, the Republican-controlled House and Senate both fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto. That will leave Republican leaders searching for more votes if they want to keep the measure alive, which they vowed to do.

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