President Donald Trump has vetoed two bipartisan measures — one aimed at advancing a long-running drinking-water pipeline project in southeastern Colorado and another involving the Miccosukee Tribe in Florida — citing cost and policy concerns that critics describe as political retaliation.
President Donald Trump has issued the first two vetoes of his second term, rejecting a pair of low-profile bills that had moved through Congress with broad bipartisan support.
One measure would have helped advance the Arkansas Valley Conduit, a decades-old effort to bring cleaner drinking water to dozens of communities in southeastern Colorado. The other, H.R. 504 — the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act — addressed flood-protection actions related to a Miccosukee residential area known as Osceola Camp inside Everglades National Park.
In veto messages released by the White House, Trump framed the decisions as part of an effort to curb what he called costly federal spending. In the Miccosukee veto message, he also argued that the tribe had opposed his administration’s immigration policies and said it was not the federal government’s responsibility to pay to fix problems in an area he said the tribe was not authorized to occupy.
The Colorado bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, drew sharp criticism from lawmakers in her state, including fellow Republicans. Boebert said the pipeline is needed because tap water in the region comes largely from surface and groundwater sources with problematic quality, and she suggested the veto may have been retaliation tied to her recent vote supporting the public release of government documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — a move she said went against Trump’s preferences.
Asked about claims of political motives, the White House has pointed reporters back to the president’s veto messages.
The vetoes have also stirred pushback from Colorado Democrats, including Gov. Jared Polis, who called the water-project veto disappointing and said the state would continue pressing for solutions for rural communities.
Congress can override presidential vetoes with a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate, but it is not yet clear whether congressional leaders will attempt an override vote or whether there is enough support to succeed.
