US President Donald Trump issued the first vetoes of his second term, killing two bills sponsored by Republicans in Congress, including one from a prominent lawmaker who bucked the administration over the release of files pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump vetoed legislation late on Tuesday to help complete a water pipeline project, a measure backed by congresswoman Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican who is close to the White House.
Trump, in his veto message, said he rejected the bill to protect American taxpayers “from funding expensive and unreliable policies”.
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That move drew sharp criticism from Boebert, a Maga loyalist who told Colorado’s 9News that she hoped the “veto has nothing to do with political retaliation”.
Boebert was one of the lawmakers who broke with the president to push for the release of documents related to Epstein, a deceased sex offender, despite pressure from the administration.
Trump also vetoed a bill to provide more land in the Florida Everglades for the Miccosukee Tribe, citing what he said was their opposition to his immigration policies. The tribe had challenged the establishment of an immigration detention facility in south Florida dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz”.
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