Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert is publicly criticizing Donald Trump after the president vetoed legislation that would have funded a long-running drinking water project in her Colorado district, raising questions about political retaliation.
The bill was designed to support a decades-old effort to deliver safe drinking water to 39 communities across Colorado’s eastern plains. In the region, groundwater contains high salt levels, and some wells have been known to release radioactive elements into the water supply, creating ongoing health and infrastructure concerns for rural residents.
Trump vetoed the measure on Tuesday, arguing in a letter to Congress that his administration is “committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding expensive and unreliable policies.” He added that “ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic growth and the fiscal health of the Nation.”
Boebert rejected that reasoning, describing the legislation as “completely non-controversial” and noting that it passed both the House and Senate unanimously earlier this year. The veto came shortly after Boebert pressed the administration to release government files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an issue that had put her at odds with the White House despite her long-standing support for Trump and the MAGA movement.
In a statement to a local news outlet, Boebert said: “I sincerely hope this veto has nothing to do with political retaliation for calling out corruption and demanding accountability.”
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The president also vetoed a second bill the same day, blocking $14 million for a project in Florida’s Everglades National Park. That funding was intended to protect Osceola Camp, an area inhabited by members of the Miccosukee Tribe of Native Americans.
The tribe has opposed Trump’s makeshift immigrant detention facility known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” which a federal judge recently ordered to be shut down. Trump said the tribe was never authorized to live in the area and argued that his administration would not support projects benefiting special interests “unaligned” with his immigration agenda.
These were the first vetoes of Trump’s second term. The Colorado veto followed Trump’s earlier vow to retaliate against the state for keeping his ally Tina Peters in prison. Peters, a former county clerk, is serving a nine-year sentence for tampering with voting machines during the 2020 election, charges that fall under state law and are not eligible for a presidential pardon.
It remains unclear whether Republican leaders in Congress will attempt to override the Colorado veto. Boebert sharpened her criticism, saying: “Nothing says ‘America First’ like denying clean drinking water to 50,000 people in Southeast Colorado, many of whom enthusiastically voted for him all three elections … But hey, if this administration wants to make its legacy blocking projects that deliver water to rural Americans; that’s on them.”
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