WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump issued the first two vetoes of his second term in office this week. He rejected two bipartisan bills passed by Congress.
The White House announced on X that Trump vetoed a pipeline measure and legislation that would give more land to the Miccosukee Tribe in Florida.
Both the House and Senate passed the bill, known as the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act, with bipartisan support. The bill aims to ensure the completion of a pipeline project to deliver clean water to southeastern Colorado.
“Enough is Enough. My administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding expensive and unreliable policies," the president wrote on social media. "Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic growth and the fiscal health of the Nation.”
In a letter to the House announcing the veto, Trump emphasized the history of the pipeline construction.
The second bill, known as the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act, would increase the Miccosukee Reserved Area. The expansion would include Osceola Camp, a part of Everglades National Park in Florida.
Trump issued another letter explaining the veto. He accuses the Miccosukee Tribe of aiming “to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected.”
Colorado’s two Democratic Senators responded on social media.
Sen. Michael Bennet deemed Trump’s rejection as a “revenge tour.” Sen. John Hickenlooper accused him of “playing partisan games and punishing Colorado by making rural communities suffer without clean drinking water.”
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. sponsored the second piece of legislation. His office did not provide an immediate response when asked for comments by NBC.
President Trump vetoed 10 bills during his first term. The first one was two years into his term. The veto was on a Senate joint resolution that aimed to end the national emergency he declared on the Southern border.
