President Donald Trump has joked about approving the last section of the Dakota Access Pipeline and how little he was criticised during an infrastructure investment speech.
The President's speech in Cincinnati was aimed to start investing more to improve the country's aging infrastructure.
The controversial $3.8 billion pipeline went into service today, which is moving North Dakota oil through South Dakota and Iowa to a distribution point in Illinois.
Mr Trump's administration and the courts allowed construction to wrap up earlier this year after months of protests by American Indian tribes and environmental groups that fear pollution.
In his speech today, Mr Trump said the project was "stalled and nobody thought any politician would have the guts to approve that final leg and I just closed my eyes and just said do it."
"Think of it, from a company standpoint (Dakota pipeline), they build this massive pipeline, going from us, and they have to hook it up, a little section and they are stopped and I said, that's not fair.
"And you know when I approved it, it's up and running, it's beautiful, it's great, everybody is happy, the sun is still shining, the water is clean.
"But you know when I approved it, I thought I would take a lot of heat, and I took none, actually none, people respected that I approved it, but I take so much heat for nonsense that it probably overrode, it probably overrode the other."
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