diff --git a/src/kaggle/api/kaggle_api_extended.py b/src/kaggle/api/kaggle_api_extended.py
index bfa2b18..073bbbe 100644
--- a/src/kaggle/api/kaggle_api_extended.py
+++ b/src/kaggle/api/kaggle_api_extended.py
@@ -736,7 +736,6 @@ def _authenticate_with_access_token(self):
             self.CONFIG_NAME_AUTH_METHOD: AuthMethod.ACCESS_TOKEN,
         }
         self.logger.debug(f"Authenticated with access token in: {source}")
-        os.environ.pop("KAGGLE_API_TOKEN", None)
         return True
 
     def _authenticate_with_oauth_creds(self) -> bool: