The House failed to override two vetoes from President Donald Trump on Thursday, a win for the president after a majority of Republicans opted not to enact two bipartisan bills targeting Colorado and Florida.
The chamber voted 248-177, with one member voting present, on whether to override a veto of Colorado’s Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act. The House voted 236-188 on whether to overturn a veto of Florida’s Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act.
A two-thirds majority was required for the override, a threshold laid out in the Constitution, and neither bill hit that threshold. On the Florida bill, 24 Republicans voted to override, with 35 voting to overturn the Colorado bill.
The supporters of both bills, particularly the one affecting Colorado, argued that the legislation is uncontroversial and bipartisan. They noted to their GOP colleagues that both were approved without controversy initially and therefore should not be rejected.
The veto of the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act, in particular, got thrust into the spotlight when Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) accused the president of vetoing the bill for “political retribution.”
Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-CO), a freshman House Republican, led the charge to convince his GOP colleagues to vote to override Trump’s veto on the Colorado bill, which he co-sponsored with Boebert and the state’s Democratic senators.
“This is not a symbolic vote. It’s not messaging. It’s not partisan,” Hurd said, speaking on the House floor. “This is a test of whether Congress keeps its word, not just to southeastern Colorado, but to every community, in every state, and in every district that depends on federal commitments being honored.”
A source close to Hurd said House leadership did not wade into the fight despite substantial opposition from the White House, with Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) confirming that “we don’t whip those kind of votes.”
The Colorado delegation has pushed back against the White House’s claim that it would “burden” taxpayers with a new water project, noting that it is not new and part of a decadeslong plan for a water pipeline to bring clean drinking water to nearly 50,000 people in Boebert and Hurd’s districts in southeast Colorado.
“Mr. Speaker, vote overrides are rare, and they should be, but the Constitution gave Congress this authority for moments exactly like this,” Hurd said.
“This vote is not about defying the president,” he added. “It is about defending Congress.”
Both Hurd and Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) had warned that if the House did not take this step, other states could face similar situations.
“I will say to all of my colleagues, as you consider where you land on this particular vote, let me be abundantly clear: It does not matter if your community supported Donald Trump politically, if we don’t take this step, trust me, no town is safe, no county is safe, no state is safe from political retaliation by the administration,” Neguse said.
“If Congress walks away from a 60-year commitment mid-project, then no Western project is truly secure,” Hurd echoed.
The Florida bill, which would have added a small village called the Osceola Camp to the section of the Florida Everglades controlled by the Miccosukee Native American tribe, received less support from Republicans than the Colorado bill.
HOUSE GOP WEIGHS RARE TRUMP REBUKE OVER FIRST VETOES OF SECOND TERM
Unlike Republicans such as Hurd and Boebert advocating their GOP colleagues to override the Colorado veto, no House Republicans spoke in favor of overriding the Florida veto.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, said Trump’s decision to veto the legislation goes beyond the scope of what is written in the bill. Trump has accused the bill of benefiting “special interests,” and he accused the tribe of not complying with his immigration policies.