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Trump vetoes two bipartisan bills, marking first vetoes of second term

<i>Andrew Harnik/Getty Images via CNN Newsource</i><br/>Senator Michael Bennet attends a Senate Finance Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on September 4.

By CNN Newsource

Published December 31, 2025 7:48 am

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump issued the first vetoes of his second term Tuesday, blocking two bipartisan, infrastructure-related bills.

The president argued that blocking both measures was necessary to save taxpayer dollars.

“Enough is enough. My Administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding expensive and unreliable policies. Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic growth and the fiscal health of the Nation,” Trump said in a message to Congress, explaining his veto of one of the bills, H.R. 131, which aims to lower the payments certain communities in Colorado make for the construction of a water pipeline.

The other bill vetoed, H.R. 504, would expand the land reserved for the Miccosukee Tribe in Florida and instruct the Department of Interior to work with the tribe to mitigate flooding in the added area.

Congress can override the president’s veto by passing the bill again with a two-thirds majority in both chambers.

Trump’s veto of H.R. 131 in particular drew criticism with one lawmaker accusing the president of retaliation.

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado said in a post on X, “This isn’t governing. It’s a revenge tour. It’s unacceptable.”

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

The senator’s claim comes as Trump has sparred with Colorado’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis over the governor’s refusal to release Tina Peters, a former election official and prominent 2020 election denier, from state prison. Earlier this month, Trump granted Peters a full federal pardon, which does not erase her state charges. Polis has said it’s a matter for the courts to decide.

The administration previously announced that it will close a critical research center in the state, with the White House implying that it was taking aim at the institution because of Polis.

GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, an ally of Trump who sponsored H.R. 131, said in a post on X, “This isn’t over.”

CNN has reached out to Boebert’s office for additional comment.

This isn’t the first time Boebert has been at odds with the president. She recently disagreed with Trump’s strong resistance to releasing files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump eventually signed the bipartisan bill to release the files, hundreds of thousands of which the Justice Department made public earlier this month with heavy redactions.