Trump draws ire of Lauren Boebert after veto of Colorado water project

WASHINGTON ‒ President Donald Trump issued his first vetoes of his second term just before the end of the year, blocking two bipartisan bills involving infrastructure.

One of the bills, H.R. 131, sought to finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit, a water pipeline under construction to provide municipal and industrial water to communities in southeastern Colorado. The other, H.R. 504, would have required the Trump administration to work with the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida to protect structures within the Osceola Camp from flooding events.

Both bills passed the Senate in December without any opposition.

The Colorado pipeline veto, announced in a Dec. 30 White House statement, ignited immediate criticism from Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a former loyal MAGA ally who defied Trump earlier this year by supporting the release of the files in the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Boebert, who sponsored the pipeline bill, condemned Trump's veto of what she called a "completely non-controversial, bipartisan bill" in a statement to a local Colorado television station, adding, "I sincerely hope this veto has nothing to do with political retaliation for calling out corruption and demanding accountability."

"This isn't over," Boebert later wrote in a post on X.

Trump's action comes as the president has been publicly critical of Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis over his state's imprisonment of Tina Peters, a former county clerk in Colorado, convicted of multiple crimes for letting someone access data from a secure voting system in an effort to prove baseless 2020 election denial conspiracies.

The Trump administration announced this month it is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, one of the nation's top climate research hubs based in Boulder, Colorado. The administration also canceled $109 million in environmentally focused transportation grants in Colorado that sought to boost electric vehicles, rail improvements and research into hydrogen and natural gas-powered trains.

"Trump just vetoed my Arkansas Valley Conduit bill ‒ passed unanimously to deliver clean, affordable water to Southeast Colorado," Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, said in a statement. "This isn’t governing. It’s a revenge tour. It’s unacceptable. I’ll keep fighting to get rural Colorado the clean water they deserve."

Trump, in a statement on the veto of the water project, said that more than $249 million has already been spent on the conduit, and total costs are estimated to be $1.3 billion. He said the bill would force federal taxpayers to bear an even greater cost of a project that he said local residents should cover.

"Enough is enough," Trump said. "My Administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding expensive and unreliable policies. Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic growth and the fiscal health of the Nation."

Trump targets Florida tribe with second veto

Trump, in a statement on the other veto, referenced the Miccosukee Tribe's opposition to his hardline immigration policies as he explained why he blocked infrastructure to address the tribe's flooding.

He said the Osceola Camp in the Everglades was constructed in 1935 without authorization, in a low-lying area elevated with fill material. Trump said that the Biden administration developed a plan to protect and replace "unauthorized infrastructure at the Osceola Camp" that could cost up to $14 million.

"But 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.

He said his 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."

Contributing: Reuters

Reach Joey Garrison @joeygarrison.