By Nolan D. McCaskill
WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday is expected to overturn two vetoes issued by President Donald Trump in a rare split between the Republican president and his allies in Congress.
It is an unusual challenge from the Republican-controlled Congress, which has largely backed Trump during his first year in office as he has canceled billions of dollars in spending, hiked tariffs and taken action in other areas that are usually handled on Capitol Hill.
Last month, Trump vetoed a $1.3 billion drinking-water project in Colorado, saying the local community should fund it, and a $14 million project in the Everglades National Park that would have benefited the Miccosukee Tribe of Native Americans, who fought an immigration detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” that was later shut down.
Both projects had passed Congress unanimously.
Colorado Democrats have accused 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 order to override Trump’s vetoes, both the House and the Senate need to clear a two-thirds supermajority. The House is expected to meet that threshold, while it is not certain whether the Senate will hold a vote.
This would not be Congress’ first break with Trump.
The Senate has rebuffed Trump’s calls to change rules that give Democrats some power in that chamber.
Lawmakers also voted overwhelmingly to force the release of files in the federal investigation of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump supported their release once it became clear the vote would succeed.
Trump vetoed 10 bills in his first term as president. Congress only overrode one veto.
(Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Lisa Shumaker)
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