The Republican-controlled House of Representatives fell short on Thursday in its attempt to overturn President Donald Trump’s first two vetoes of his second term, despite dozens of GOP members breaking ranks to vote against the president.
The House voted 248-177 to override Trump’s veto of the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act, falling 37 votes short of the 285 needed for success. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a typically staunch Trump ally, would have extended the repayment period for a water pipeline project from 50 to 100 years and lowered interest rates, providing clean drinking water to approximately 50,000 residents in southeastern Colorado.
Thirty-five Republicans joined all 213 Democrats in supporting the override attempt. All Colorado congressional members, including GOP Reps. Jeff Hurd and Gabe Evans, voted to override.
“This is a piece of legislation that has gone through committee, has been negotiated, has been debated, has gone back and forth between both chambers — and we were able to pass this single-subject legislation all the way through with unanimous support in this body and in the Senate,” Boebert said on the House floor.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would cost the federal government less than $500,000, though Trump cited fiscal responsibility concerns in his veto message.
The second override attempt concerned the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act, which would have expanded territory for the Miccosukee Tribe in the Florida Everglades and directed the Interior Department to provide flood protection assistance. The House voted 236-188 to override, with 24 Republicans and 212 Democrats voting against Trump’s wishes, but fell short of the 284 votes required.
In his veto explanation, Trump accused the tribe of obstructing his immigration policies, specifically referencing their opposition to the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center constructed in the Everglades.
Miccosukee Tribe Chairman Talbert Cypress responded that the legislation “was not about special treatment, but about public safety, environmental stewardship, and honoring long-recognized tribal interests”. The tribe maintained they have “never sought to obstruct the President’s immigration agenda” but rather took action to ensure environmental due diligence for Everglades restoration.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle charged that Trump’s unexpected vetoes, issued shortly after Christmas, were acts of political retribution. Multiple factors appear to have contributed to the Colorado veto, including Trump’s ongoing feud with Democratic Gov. Jared Polis over the imprisonment of Tina Peters, a former Mesa County clerk convicted on state charges for orchestrating a breach of election system security.
Trump issued a symbolic federal pardon for Peters in December 2025, though it holds no legal weight since her convictions were under state law. The president has publicly demanded Peters’ release and told Polis to “rot in hell” over the state’s refusal to free her.
Some observers also suggested the veto may have been retaliation against Boebert herself, as she was one of four Republicans who supported a discharge petition to release government files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
