White House senior adviser John Podesta on Monday indicated that President Obama would veto an energy efficiency bill set to be debated in the Senate this week if it is approved with “unacceptable riders.”

Podesta’s comments could be read as a warning to proponents of the Keystone XL pipeline that the White House would veto an energy bill that seeks to force Obama’s hand on the issue.

Podesta said the White House hopes the bipartisan energy efficiency bill led by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) gets to the floor and that the administration backs the underlying bill.

“We hope that it passes, but if it passes with unacceptable riders, then it will be headed to the watery depths,” he said at the White House daily press briefing.

Podesta’s comments are aimed at more than Keystone.

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