Trump Uses Veto Power for First Time This Term

President Trump has dusted off his veto pen, blocking two widely backed bills on water and tribal lands and triggering bipartisan pushback from Florida to Colorado. The White House said on Monday that Trump rejected the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act and the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act, his first vetoes since returning to office, reports CBS News. Both measures had passed the House and Senate by voice vote. Overriding the vetoes would require two-thirds majorities in both chambers.

The Florida bill would have added the Osceola Camp, a small village in the Everglades, to land managed by the Miccosukee Tribe, as well as required the Interior Department to help protect structures there from flooding. Supporters, including GOP Rep. Carlos Gimenez and Democratic Rep. Darren Soto, framed it as a matter of tribal autonomy and conservation. Trump, however, told Congress the measure catered to "special interests" and argued the tribe has opposed his immigration agenda, noting its participation in a lawsuit against a nearby detention facility known as "Alligator Alcatraz." Trump also said the camp was created without authorization and that Washington shouldn't pay to fix problems there.

Trump also vetoed legislation to ease financing for the long-delayed Arkansas Valley Conduit, a drinking-water pipeline first envisioned under John F. Kennedy that could serve about 50,000 people in Colorado's southeastern region. The bill, backed by both of Colorado's Democratic senators and GOP Reps. Lauren Boebert and Jeff Hurd, would have reduced interest costs and extended repayment deadlines for local communities.

Trump, however, called it an example of "taxpayer handouts," citing a projected $1.4 billion price tag and saying federal taxpayers shouldn't shoulder more of the burden for what he cast as a local project. Sen. John Hickenlooper accused Trump of "playing partisan games"; Sen. Michael Bennet said the move looked like "revenge." Boebert, meanwhile, labeled the veto "very disappointing" and warned, "This fight is not over." She also suggested that Trump's veto may be retaliation against her for voting in Congress to release the Epstein files, per Raw Story.