WASHINGTON, Jan 8 — The United States (US) House of Representatives is expected to overturn two vetoes issued by 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 cancelled billions of dollars in spending, hiked tariffs, and taken action in other areas usually handled on Capitol Hill.
Last month, Trump vetoed a US$1.3 billion (RM5.28 billion) drinking-water project in Colorado, saying the local community should fund it, and a US$14 million (RM56.88 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.
To override Trump's vetoes, both the House and the Senate must pass a two-thirds supermajority. The House is expected to meet that threshold, but it is not certain whether the Senate will 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.
