Trump Vetoes Bills Depriving States of Congressionally Approved Funding to Exact Revenge for Opposing Him

Donald Trump’s first two vetoes of his second term fit his pattern of using his power, not for the interests of the American people, but for personal revenge against his political opponents. In one case, this is Trump’s openly admitted motive, and in another, it is an accusation made against him by his own Republican ally.

The New York Times provides an overview:

In messages to Congress released Tuesday, Mr. Trump said he blocked the bills to save taxpayers’ money. But the president has grievances against the Miccosukee Tribe and the state of Colorado, leading lawmakers to accuse Mr. Trump of blocking the bills because of political disagreements. Throughout his second term, Mr. Trump has carried out a campaign of retribution against political opponents, law firms, universities and specific individuals.

In Florida, Mr. Trump suggested the veto of the bill to expand Miccosukee Tribe land was tied to its opposition to his immigration agenda. The Miccosukee Tribe joined a lawsuit earlier this year to block the administration from constructing an immigrant detention center in the Everglades nicknamed Alligator Alcatraz. And in Colorado, Mr. Trump has attacked the state’s leaders over the imprisonment of a former state election official, Tina Peters, for interfering with the 2020 presidential election.

“Despite seeking funding and special treatment from the federal government, the Miccosukee Tribe has actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected,” Mr. Trump wrote in a message to Congress. “My administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding projects for special interests, especially those that are unaligned with my administration’s policy of removing violent criminal illegal aliens from the country.” …

Ms. Boebert slammed the president’s veto, arguing he was “denying clean drinking water for 50,000 people in Southeast Colorado.”

“I sincerely hope this veto has nothing to do with political retaliation for calling out corruption and demanding accountability,” she said in a statement.

Ms. Boebert was a vocal supporter of releasing the Epstein files, drawing backlash from the White House.

It is within the president’s power to veto legislation—just as Congress has the power to override his veto. What makes this a misuse of power is the obviously corrupt motive, which offers only the thinnest pretense of being connected to national interests rather than Trump’s interests.

The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.

© The UnPopulist, 2026

Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X.