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House Republicans push to override Trump vetoes: When is the vote? What to expect?
House Republicans plan a Dec 8 floor vote to override Trump’s vetoes on a Colorado water pipeline and Everglades land protections, needing two-thirds support.
House Republicans are preparing to hold a floor vote on Thursday (December 8) to override the first two vetoes of President Donald Trump's second term.
The vote is scheduled to happen after Trump vetoed the bill to assist with a long-planned water pipeline in southeastern Colorado, and another bill expanding land protections for the Miccosukee Tribe in Florida's Everglades.
To override the vetoes, it would require a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate. Although it is still unclear if the override vote will gather enough support in the Senate.
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Which vetoes are being voted to override on Thursday?
Trump issued his first two vetoes of his second term at the end of December 2025. The two legislations he blocked had broad bipartisan support in Congress.
The first bill that Trump vetoed would have provided regulatory relief and funding to expedite a long-delayed water pipeline project. This project aimed to provide clean drinking water to underserved communities in rural Colorado.
Representative Lauren Boebert have criticized Trump's veto of the Colorado bill as politically motivated pertaining to the fact that she supported a discharge petition to compel the release of the records of Jeffrey Epstein.
However, Trump stated that the legislation would "continue the failed policies of the past by forcing Federal taxpayers to bear even more of the massive costs of a local water project." He then said, "Enough is enough."
The second bill concerns the Miccosukee Tribe. The tribe has been at conflict with the White House over the administration's plans to construct its "Alligator Alcatraz" immigrant detention facility, which would benefit from the underlying law.
Both chambers of the Florida politicians supported the legislation. According to Representative Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), it was about "fairness and conservation."
Trump accused the tribe of impeding his immigration policy in his veto notice, claiming that the bill benefited "special interests."
If made into legislation, it would have increased the Florida Everglades' Miccosukee Tribe's allotted territory.
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Vote day and override mechanics
The override vote scheduled for Thursday will require two-thirds of the House members present to vote in favor to advance the bills into law despite the presidential veto.
If House Republicans and Democrats can muster the necessary broad coalition, the measures would then proceed to the Senate, where an equally high threshold will be required to complete the override process.
