WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump issued the first vetoes of his second term late Tuesday night, which came as a surprise to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle as the president struck down two bipartisan bills.
Lawmakers expressed frustration on Wednesday afternoon after Trump vetoed a bill to fund clean drinking water pipeline construction for the Arkansas Valley Conduit in southeastern Colorado, a proposal that was considered noncontroversial and had backing from both political parties. Republicans said they were “disappointed” in Trump’s decision, and one hinted at fears that the veto was an act of payback.
“I sincerely hope this veto has nothing to do with political retaliation for calling out corruption and demanding accountability. Americans deserve leadership that puts people over politics,” Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, who defied Trump by signing on to a discharge petition forcing the release of the Epstein files, said in a statement.
“This isn’t over,” she said in a separate social media post.
Rep. Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., similarly pushed back, arguing the veto violates a “long-standing federal commitment” to the community.
The White House justified its veto by pointing to concerns of construction costs, claiming taxpayers should not have to fund “expensive and unreliable policies.” The administration made no mention of Boebert or the Epstein discharge petition in its explanation.
However, the White House alluded to political reasons in Trump’s second veto of a bill that would have given the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians more control over some of its tribal lands in Florida. The Miccosukee Tribe is one of several groups that sued the Trump administration earlier this year after it created an immigration detention center nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” located in south Florida.
“Despite seeking funding and special treatment from the Federal Government, the Miccosukee Tribe has actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected,” Trump said in a statement justifying the veto. “My Administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding projects for special interests, especially those that are unaligned with my Administration’s policy of removing violent criminal illegal aliens from the country.”
The vetoes mark the first of Trump’s second term, and it appears unlikely that Congress will override them. To do so, two-thirds of the House and the Senate would need to vote to overturn the president’s decision.