President Donald Trump has issued the first presidential vetoes of his second term in office, overriding two bills that had won unanimous approval in Congress.
The first of these—the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC) Act—was a bill to help fund a major water drinking project for Colorado. It drew immediate reactions.
Trump has had several disputes with Colorado, including naming it a “sanctuary jurisdiction” despite the governor saying otherwise. Trump has also demanded Colorado release from prison former Mesa County Clerk, Tina Peters. Peters was sentenced to nine years for allowing unauthorized access to voting machines, which she says she did to collect evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 election. Trump pardoned Peters on Dec. 11, but that only applies to federal charges and she was convicted on state charges.
The bill was intended to provide funding for a decades-long project to bring safe drinking water to 39 communities in Colorado’s Eastern Plains region. In the area, groundwater is high in salt, and wells have sometimes released radiation into the water supply.
It’s unclear whether Congress will pursue to override the veto, which would require two-thirds support in both chambers.
In addition to this veto, Trump also issued a veto related to a $14 million project to protect Osceola Camp, an area within the Everglades National Park inhabited by members of the Miccosukee tribe of Native Americans.
The tribe fought Trump’s efforts to build a makeshift immigrant detention center, “Alligator Alcatraz,” in the region.
The facility had already been ordered shuttered by a federal judge.
