House Democrats passed a tribal casino bill Wednesday, a week after President Trump tweeted that lawmakers should block the measure.
Democrats were forced to pull the bill from the floor last week following Trump’s tweet. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., would reaffirm the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe reservation located in the town of Mashpee, Mass. The measure passed 275-146.
The tribe is hoping to build a $1 billion casino but the deal has been held up by opponents, namely lawmakers in neighboring Rhode Island, who said the competition would cut into their own casino revenue, which is one of the largest sources of funding in that state.
The Department of Interior is holding up the land use, prompting the Massachusetts delegation in Congress, including Trump nemesis and presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to push for passage of the legislation giving the tribe full control over the land.
Trump last week urged lawmakers to oppose the bill.
“Republicans shouldn’t vote for H.R. 312, a special interest casino Bill, backed by Elizabeth (Pocahontas) Warren,” Trump tweeted.
“It is unfair and doesn’t treat Native Americans equally!”
Democrats, who control the House floor, hoped to pass it under special rules limiting debate and requiring a two-thirds majority to pass but abandoned that effort after the tweet. They added it to the schedule Wednesday under a rule requiring just a simple majority for passage.
The measure pitted the all-Democrat delegations from Massachusetts and Rhode Island against each other.
Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., called on lawmakers to block the bill because the casino would cut into revenue Rhode Island needs from its own two casinos. Those gaming facilities are the third largest source of revenue for the state, Langevin said.
“Rhode Island would suffer tremendously if it became law,” Langevin said.
But Massachusetts lawmakers said the tribal land trust was approved by state and local lawmakers in Massachusetts before a court upheld the Interior Department’s decision.
The casino would provide much needed funding for the tribe, Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., said.
“This overrules the court decision,” Kennedy said. “The last I checked, that is what Congress does. We write laws.”
