Republican-led House fails to override Trump vetoes

WASHINGTON – The US House of Representatives on Jan 8 fell short of the high threshold needed to overturn two vetoes by President Donald Trump, though dozens of Republicans voted with Democrats in a rare split between the Republican president and his allies in Congress.

The votes to overturn the presidential vetoes were an unusual challenge from the Republican-controlled Congress, which has largely backed Mr Trump during his first year in office as he has cancelled billions of dollars in spending, hiked tariffs and taken action in other areas that are usually handled on Capitol Hill.

Congress has shown a hint of independence recently. The Senate advanced legislation on Jan 8 that would prevent Mr Trump from taking further military action against Venezuela without congressional approval.

The Senate has also rebuffed Mr Trump’s calls to change rules that give Democrats some power in that chamber, and lawmakers in both chambers voted overwhelmingly to

force his administration to release material related

to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Still, the House did not clear the two-thirds supermajority needed to override Mr Trump’s vetoes of two infrastructure projects: a US$1.3 billion (S$1.6 billion) drinking-water project in Colorado and a US$14 million project in the Everglades National Park that would have benefited the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.

Both projects had passed Congress unanimously.

Colorado Democrats accused Mr Trump of using the veto to punish the state for imprisoning Tina Peters, a former election official found guilty of tampering with voting machines in the 2020 presidential election.

In a letter, Republican and Democratic lawmakers from Colorado warned “no bill is safe” if Congress allows Mr Trump’s veto to stand. 

Mr Trump vetoed 10 bills in his first term as president. Congress only overrode one veto. REUTERS