House Fails to Override Trump Vetoes on Colorado Water Project and Miccosukee Land Expansion
House failed to override President Donald Trump’s vetoes on two bills funding a Colorado water project and Miccosukee land expansion, underscoring his influence over GOP.
Overview
The House failed to override President Donald Trump’s vetoes on Jan. 8, voting 248-177 to sustain the Colorado water bill and 236-188 on the Miccosukee measure.
Both bills had earlier passed Congress by voice votes; the water project (Arkansas Valley Conduit) would deliver clean water to southeastern Colorado, estimated at roughly $1.3 billion.
Trump cited the water project's 'massive' $1.3 billion price tag and criticized the Miccosukee Tribe for opposing his immigration policies, linking vetoes to fiscal and political concerns.
Dozens of House Republicans — including 35 on the Colorado bill and 24 on the Miccosukee bill — joined Democrats, signaling GOP fractures but failing the two-thirds requirement.
Congress has overridden presidential vetoes only 112 times in history; the last successful override against Trump was of his 2021 National Defense Authorization Act veto, underscoring the rarity of such rebukes.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the vetoes as political acts demonstrating Trump’s hold over his party and possible retaliation, emphasizing criticism from both parties and contextual links (unanimous passage, Tina Peters, Miccosukee lawsuit). Language choices (e.g., "ignited criticism," "lashed out") and early placement of critics’ quotes prioritize a retaliation narrative over fiscal or project detail.
Sources (7)
FAQ
The Arkansas Valley Conduit is a roughly 130‑mile water pipeline intended to carry clean drinking water from Pueblo Reservoir to about 39 communities in southeastern Colorado, ultimately serving up to 50,000 people in counties such as Pueblo, Otero, Crowley, Kiowa, Bent, and Prowers, where many local groundwater sources are contaminated with salinity and naturally occurring radionuclides like uranium and radon.
President Trump vetoed the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act because he opposed extending and easing the repayment terms, arguing that it would force federal taxpayers to shoulder more of the project’s estimated $1.3 billion cost and continue what he called “massive” taxpayer handouts for a local water project that was supposed to be paid for by its users.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that changing the repayment terms under the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act would add less than $500,000 to the federal government’s cost of the project, even though Trump cited a $1.3 billion overall price tag in justifying his veto.
The Miccosukee land expansion measure was a bill to place additional land into trust for the Miccosukee Tribe in Florida, effectively expanding the tribe’s sovereign territory; Trump vetoed it after criticizing the Miccosukee Tribe for opposing his immigration policies, linking his decision to both political and policy concerns.
Successful veto overrides are historically rare, with Congress having overridden presidential vetoes only 112 times, and it has overridden Trump at least once before on his veto of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, making failed override attempts on these two bills consistent with the broader difficulty of rebuking a sitting president.
History
3 sources