The U.S. House failed to override President Donald Trump's December veto of a bipartisan bill transferring 30 acres of Florida Everglades land to the Miccosukee Tribe. Trump cited the tribe's opposition to a nearby immigration detention center. The decision stalls tribal efforts to restore the area and protect against climate-driven flooding.
The Miccosukee Reserved Area Act, passed by Congress on December 11, 2025, sought to expand the tribe's reserved land within the Everglades by 30 acres, including the Osceola Camp area. This would support environmental restoration, flood defenses, and elevation projects amid rising climate threats—benefits long pursued through bipartisan efforts.
Miccosukee Chairman Cypress hailed the bill as clarification of historic tribal lands predating modern developments like roads and Everglades National Park. However, Trump vetoed it on December 30—one of his first acts of the second term—linking it to the tribe's July 2025 lawsuit against 'Alligator Alcatraz,' a proposed immigration detention facility.
On January 9, 2026, the House debated an override. Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz decried the veto as 'vengeance,' while original Republican sponsor Rep. Carlos Gimenez had previously praised the tribe's stewardship role in water management. The override failed, dimming prospects without a Democratic majority.
Legal scholars called the veto exceptional. UC Berkeley's Kevin Washburn noted rejections rarely hinge on unrelated issues, while U Michigan's Matthew Fletcher highlighted the irony of tribes repurchasing ancestral lands amid typical bipartisan support. Studies show such returns yield climate gains, but tribal projects face headwinds in Trump's term.
