3 hours agoThu 1 Jan 2026 at 12:00am

Lauren Boebert has been a close Trump ally, but broke ranks over the Epstein files. (Reuters: Cheney Orr)

A month after Donald Trump's spectacular falling-out with MAGA firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene, another Republican congresswoman has publicly lashed out at the US president.

This time, he has clashed with Colorado's Lauren Boebert, a generally staunch Trump ally who joined Ms Greene to break ranks and push for the release of the Epstein files.

Her criticism came after Mr Trump vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have given towns in her state more time to repay loans for a water pipeline project.

"President Trump decided to veto a completely non-controversial, bipartisan bill that passed both the House and Senate unanimously," Ms Boebert said in a statement.

"Why? Because nothing says 'America First' like denying clean drinking water to 50,000 people in Southeast Colorado, many of whom enthusiastically voted for him all three elections."

Ms Boebert and fellow Republican Jeff Hurd introduced the bill in the House of Representatives. Two Democratic Party senators introduced it in the upper house.

No members of Congress opposed it. But Mr Trump said the bill "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".

"Enough is enough," he said in his veto statement.

"My Administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding expensive and unreliable policies."

Ms Boebert said: "I must have missed the rally where he stood in Colorado and promised to personally derail critical water infrastructure projects.

"My bad, I thought the campaign was about lowering costs and red tape."

She said she sincerely hoped the veto had "nothing to do with political retaliation for calling out corruption and demanding accountability".

Ms Boebert was one of three Republican congresswomen who sided with Democrats in signing a "discharge petition", which forced a vote on a bill to release the Epstein files in Congress.

The White House unsuccessfully pressured all three women not to vote for the petition. Mr Trump later singled out Ms Greene, insulting her on social media and calling her "Marjorie Traitor Greene".

Ms Greene has since announced her resignation from Congress.

Ms Boebert was called to a meeting in the White House Situation Room before the discharge petition vote. But she recently : "Certainly, I spoke with the president prior to going to the Situation Room, but there wasn't a hateful conversation. It wasn't a divisive conversation. It wasn't a threatening conversation."