Lauren Boebert Goes Scorched Earth On Trump For Putting Kibosh On Her Bill
Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert sharply criticized President Donald Trump Tuesday night after he vetoed his legislation funding a drinking water pipeline in the southeastern part of the state.
Boebert’s bill, known as the Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act, aims to complete a long-planned pipeline project in Colorado’s Eastern Plains by allowing more flexible reimbursement options to fund construction costs for local communities. The congresswoman said the president’s veto was a slap in the face to voters in her constituency, who supported the president by double digits in 2024. (RELATED: Republican women play the feminism card against Mike Johnson)
“[N]“Nothing says ‘America First’ like denying clean water to 50,000 people in southeastern Colorado, many of whom enthusiastically voted for him in all three elections,” Boebert said in a statement Tuesday to a local Colorado media outlet. “I had to miss the rally where he held in Colorado and promised to derail critical water infrastructure projects.”
“But hey, if this administration wants to leave its legacy by blocking projects that provide water to rural Americans, that’s their fault,” Boebert continued.
The 130-mile pipeline project, long plagued by funding problems, began in 2023 and would provide 39 communities with access to clean water, according to the bill’s sponsors. The conduit was first proposed by former President John F. Kennedy.
The bill was unanimously approved by both chambers by voice vote — a voting method typically reserved for noncontroversial bills. It is unclear whether Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson would authorize a vote to override Trump’s veto.
The White House has argued that the pipeline project is wasting taxpayer dollars and should be funded by local governments.
“Enough is enough,” Trump wrote in a statement published on X announcing the veto. “My administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding costly and unreliable policies. Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal health is vital to the nation’s economic growth and financial health.”
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) as he leaves after a speech during a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, March 4, 2025. (Photo by Win McNamee/POOL/AFP) (Photo by WIN MCNAMEE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Boebert’s scathing statement marks a departure from his usual praise of Trump’s policy agenda in Congress. The congresswoman, who recently challenged Trump on the Epstein files, also questioned whether the president’s veto of his bipartisan water pipe bill amounted to revenge.
“[I] “I sincerely hope that this veto has nothing to do with political retaliation for exposing corruption and demanding accountability,” Boebert said in his statement. “Americans deserve leadership that puts people above politics.”
The Colorado lawmaker was among four Republicans who signed a release petition triggering a vote on bipartisan legislation requiring the Justice Department to release records associated with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, convicted in November.
The Justice Department began releasing a slew of documents after Trump signed the measure, although critics say the agency is defying Congress by not releasing all the records within the legal deadline.
Colorado Democratic Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, who sponsored the pipeline bill in the Senate, criticized Trump’s veto Tuesday night.
“This isn’t government. This is a revenge tour,” Bennet wrote on X.
The two men are blocking consideration of an appropriations list in the Upper House, citing the Trump administration’s plans to dismantle a national climate and weather laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. White House budget chief Russ Vought said the facility was “one of the biggest sources of climate alarmism in the country.”
The president promised “tough action” for Colorado in August if the Centennial State does not release former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, 70, who is serving a nine-year sentence after being convicted of tampering with voting machines in the 2020 election. Trump pardoned Peters in December, although the measure was largely symbolic because the former election official had been convicted under state law.
Trump also vetoed legislation Tuesday that would grant more land to the Miccosukee Tribe in Everglades National Park. The bipartisan bill passed by voice vote in the House and Senate.
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