The pipeline that would carry oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, to Steel City, Neb., has faced legal hurdles at every step. Currently, out of the 900 miles planned on American soil, a 1.2 mile section is largely completed in Montana at the Canada-U.S. border.

While President Donald Trump backs the project, and the State Department issued a permit in 2017, challenges remain. 

TC Energy, the company building the pipeline, has struggled to find investors. The government of Alberta made it possible to move forward by investing $1.1 billion and providing $4.2 billion in loan guarantees. In March, TC Energy announced it was starting construction, but the progress was short-lived.

In April 2020, a federal district court judge in Montana said TC Energy needed to do more work to comply with the Endangered Species Act. The judge's order blocked any dredging that would affect about 700 stream crossings along the planned route, effectively putting work on pause.

TC Energy asked the U.S. Supreme Court to put that order on hold while a lower court takes up a full appeal. In a blow to the project, the Supreme Court ruled July 6 that the Keystone XL pipeline must go through the full environmental review process.

At the start of 2020, TC Energy said it planned to start building "certain pipeline segments in August 2020" in Montana and South Dakota. In Nebraska, it still needs permits to build housing for workers in several remote locations, but in June TC Energy said it planned to start work in one spot in Nebraska where worker camps are not needed. 

After the latest ruling, the company said it remained committed to Keystone XL, but it would continue to "evaluate our 2020 U.S. scope."

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden said he would end the project.

If the XL pipeline wins all of its permits, beats all of the legal challenges and Trump secures a second term, it could be completed by 2023. But with so many factors hanging in the balance, we rate this promise Stalled.