Congress overrides Obama’s veto of 9/11 bill

By Karoun Demirjian and Juliet Eilperin September 28 at 3:02 PM

Congress on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to override President Obama’s veto of legislation that would allow 9/11 victims’ families to sue the Saudi Arabian government over its alleged support for the terrorists who carried out the attacks.

The votes in the House and Senate amounted to a sweeping, bipartisan rejection of the White House’s argument that the legislation poses a national security threat because it could expose U.S. officials to similar lawsuits abroad. It is the first time during the Obama administration that Congress has voted to override a veto.

“Overriding a presidential veto is something we don’t take lightly, but it was important in this case that the families of the victims of 9/11 be allowed to pursue justice, even if that pursuit causes some diplomatic discomforts,” Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who co-authored the bill with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), said in a statement.

Traveling aboard Air Force One Wednesday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest called the vote “the single most embarrassing thing the United States Senate has done possibly since 1983,” when Congress overwhelmingly voted to override President Reagan’s veto of an Oregon land transfer bill.

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