Dec. 31 (UPI) — President Donald Trump issued his first two vetoes of his second term this week, striking down infrastructure bills aimed at Colorado and Florida.
Trump issued vetoes for HR-131 and HR-504 on Tuesday, after both bills received bipartisan support in both chambers of the U.S. Congress. Both bills can be revived by a two-thirds majority congressional vote in both chambers, overriding the vetoes.
HR-131, the “Finish the Arkansas Conduit Act,” would reduce the payments of communities in Colorado for the construction of a water pipeline delivering water from the Pueblo Reservoir. The communities receiving water would have interest payments removed and the repayment period for the project would be extended to 100 years.
Trump said his veto of HR-131 is about preventing costs to taxpayers.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., told 9News in Denver that she hopes the veto is not political retaliation.
“This isn’t over,” Boebert said in a social media post.
Trump has been critical of Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis over refusing to release Tina Peters, a Mesa County, Colo., clerk who was convicted for attempting to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump granted Peters a full presidential pardon earlier this year but presidential pardons have no bearing on state charges.
HR-504, the “Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act,” was passed by Congress earlier this month to expand the Miccosukee Tribe’s land in Florida, including a portion of the Everglades National Park. It also directs the Department of the Interior to work with the tribe to protect the structures in this expanded land from flooding.
In Trump’s message to Congress explaining his veto of HR-504, he said the Miccosukee Tribe “has actively sought to obstruct” his immigration policies.