The Power Play: Veto Override In Congress

The President of the United States has the authority to veto legislation passed by Congress, which is one of the most powerful tools at their disposal to prevent the passage of legislation. Congress can override a presidential veto if it musters a two-thirds vote in both chambers. This is known as a regular veto. However, if Congress adjourns before the ten days in which the President may have signed the bill have passed, the President can employ a pocket veto, which cannot be overridden by Congress.

The US President's veto power

In a "regular veto", the President returns the unsigned bill to the originating house of Congress within ten days, usually accompanied by a memorandum of disapproval or a "veto message". This type of veto is not absolute, as Congress can override the President's decision with a two-thirds vote in both houses. The first successful override of a "regular veto" occurred in 1845, when Congress overruled President John Tyler's veto.

A "pocket veto" occurs when Congress adjourns before the ten-day period elapses, preventing the President from returning the bill to the originating house. In this scenario, the President can block the bill from becoming law by simply declining to sign it. A "pocket veto" is an absolute veto that cannot be overridden by Congress. The "pocket veto" was first used by President James Madison in 1812.

The veto power serves as a significant tool for the President to influence legislation. Even the threat of a veto can lead to changes in the content of a bill before it reaches the President's desk. It is worth noting that the President's veto power is not without limitations. Congress has successfully overridden approximately 7% of presidential vetoes throughout history. Additionally, the President's objections to a bill must be stated in writing, and Congress is required to consider them.

Congress's override procedure

Congress can override a presidential veto by invoking a two-thirds vote of both chambers. This procedure is known as a "regular veto" override and it can only be invoked if the president returns the unsigned legislation to the originating house of Congress within ten days, usually accompanied by a memorandum of disapproval or a "veto message". The two-thirds majority vote requirement applies to each house, and the votes are made at the qualified majority of the members voting, rather than the whole number of house members.

The Constitution grants a ten-day window for the president to act on the legislation, after which it automatically becomes law if not returned with objections. However, if Congress adjourns before the ten days elapse, the president cannot return the bill, and this procedure is called a "pocket veto". A pocket veto is an absolute veto that cannot be overridden by Congress, and the bill fails to become law.

The authority for the pocket veto is derived from Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution, which states that if Congress adjourns before the ten days elapse, preventing the return of the bill, it shall not become law. Over time, there have been clashes between Congress and the President regarding the use of the pocket veto, specifically debating the term "adjournment". The Supreme Court has weighed in on this issue, holding that the President cannot return a bill if Congress adjourns sine die from a session before the ten days elapse.

In summary, Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers, but only if it is a regular veto and the president returns the bill within the ten-day window. If the president fails to act on the bill within the allotted time, it becomes a pocket veto, which cannot be overridden.

The two types of vetoes

The President of the United States has the authority to veto legislation passed by Congress. This authority is one of the most significant tools the President can employ to prevent the passage of legislation. The Constitution provides the President with 10 days (excluding Sundays) to act on legislation or the legislation automatically becomes law.

There are two types of vetoes: the "regular veto" and the "pocket veto". The regular veto is a qualified negative veto. The President returns the unsigned legislation to the originating house of Congress within a 10-day period, usually with a memorandum of disapproval or a "veto message". Congress can override the President's decision if it musters the necessary two-thirds vote of each house. President George Washington issued the first regular veto on April 5, 1792. The first successful congressional override occurred on March 3, 1845, when Congress overrode President John Tyler's veto of S. 66.

The pocket veto is an absolute veto that cannot be overridden. The veto becomes effective when the President fails to sign a bill after Congress has adjourned and is unable to override the veto. The authority of the pocket veto is derived from the Constitution's Article I, section 7, "the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case, it shall not be law". Over time, Congress and the President have clashed over the use of the pocket veto, debating the term "adjournment". The President has attempted to use the pocket veto during intra- and inter-session adjournments, but Congress has denied this use of the veto. The Legislative Branch, backed by modern court rulings, asserts that the Executive Branch may only pocket veto legislation when Congress has adjourned sine die from a session. President James Madison was the first President to use the pocket veto in 1812.

The history of veto power

The concept of a veto originated with the Roman offices of consul and tribune of the plebs. The tribunes had the power to unilaterally block any action by a Roman magistrate or the decrees passed by the Roman Senate. The institution of the veto, known to the Romans as the intercessio, was adopted by the Roman Republic in the 6th century BC to enable the tribunes to protect the mandamus interests of the plebeians (common citizenry) from the patricians, who dominated the Senate. The veto was an essential component of the Roman conception of power being wielded not only to manage state affairs but to restrict the power of the state's high officials and institutions.

In the Thirteen Colonies, the British colonial government exercised two forms of veto: an absolute veto by the governor of each colony (except for Connecticut, Maryland, and Rhode Island), and another by the British king, typically acting through the Board of Trade. The British monarch last used this power within the United Kingdom in 1708, but in the colonies, the practice continued much longer. From 1696 to 1765, the king struck down nearly 400 laws that had been adopted by an American colonial legislature and approved by the colony's governor. This heavy use of the veto power was included in the bill of particulars in the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

The presidential veto power provided by the 1789 Constitution was first exercised on April 5, 1792, when President George Washington vetoed a bill outlining a new apportionment formula. Washington's stated reasons for vetoing the bill were that it did not apportion representatives according to states' relative populations and that it gave eight states more than one representative per 30,000 residents, in violation of the Constitution. The veto power continued to be very rarely used until the presidency of Andrew Jackson, who was the fourth president to use the veto power and the first to do so based on political, rather than constitutional grounds.

The first successful congressional override of a presidential veto occurred on March 3, 1845, when Congress overrode President John Tyler's veto of a bill prohibiting the president from authorizing the building of Coast Guard ships without approved appropriations from Congress. Since then, Congress has overridden about 7% of presidential vetoes. In recent decades, some notable vetoes (and overrides) have shaped the course of American government and society.

Veto power in state governments

In the United States, the president can use the veto power to prevent a bill passed by Congress from becoming law. Congress can override the veto by a two-thirds vote of both chambers. All state and territorial governors have a similar veto power, as do some mayors and county executives.

The veto power in state governments varies across different states and territories. All 50 state governors have the power to veto an entire bill, also known as a package veto. The last state to provide this power was North Carolina in 1996. In addition to this, many states give the governor additional powers to strike or revise parts of a bill without striking the whole bill. This includes the line-item, amendatory, and reduction vetoes. The first territorial governor to be granted line-item veto power was the governor of the Territory of Hawaii in 1902.

The governor of a state can veto a bill passed by the state legislature. Revisions made by the governor are subject to confirmation or rejection by the legislature. The governor can also remove specific sections of an appropriation bill that the legislature has passed.

In some states, the governor has an absolute veto power that cannot be overridden. For example, in South Carolina, the governor initially had an absolute veto, but after Governor John Rutledge vetoed the new state constitution, he was forced to resign, and his successor adopted a constitution without any veto power. In Massachusetts, the constitution of 1780 provided for a qualified veto, which could be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each chamber.

In addition to gubernatorial veto powers, Congress has expressly reserved the plenary power to nullify territorial legislation in some territories, including Guam. Some territories' organic laws also provided for an absolute presidential veto over territorial legislation, as was the case in Puerto Rico under the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917.

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