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President Donald Trump issued the first two vetoes of his second term just before the close of 2025, choosing to kick them back to Congress just in time for the new year.
The president vetoed H.R. 131 (Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act) and H.R. 504 (Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act), according to the White House.
HR 131 was introduced by Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (Colo.). It would have authorized the federal government to complete a planned water pipeline in Colorado, but the project, according to the president’s veto communication, has been fraught with delays and hundreds of millions in loans and grants from the state.
“The current bill would now have the Federal Government extend the repayment period (on the already-reduced repayment requirement) for an additional 25 years, creating a 75-year repayment period. The bill would also cut the interest rate in half,” he argued.
As a result, the estimated $1.3 billion project was returned to the House of Representatives without the president’s signature.
“This isn’t over,” Rep. Boebert said on X in response to the veto.
The second bill President Trump vetoed, HR 504, would have implemented improvements for the Osceola Camp within the Everglades National Park, which is already occupied by some family members of the Miccosukee Tribe. The bill would have improved aspects of the Osceola Camp, such as replacing old utilities and repairing some structures.
The president’s office noted several arguments for vetoing the bill: the camp was reportedly constructed in 1935 without authorization, and the cost of restoring the camp fully could be as much as $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,” the president said.
President Trump was likely referring to a lawsuit that the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians joined in 2025 that sought to stop his administration’s now-famed immigration detention center, “Alligator Alcatraz,” from operating in the region.
“My 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,” the president noted.