The Power To Veto: Who Holds It?

The power to veto is a significant tool in the legislative process, allowing certain individuals or groups to prevent or alter policy changes. In the United States, the president has the authority to veto legislation passed by Congress, a power also held by state governors and some mayors and county executives. The concept of a veto originated with the Roman offices of consul and tribune of the plebs, and it has since become a key feature of political systems worldwide, particularly in presidential and semi-presidential setups. While the specifics of veto powers vary, they generally serve as a check on legislative power, ensuring that policy changes undergo rigorous scrutiny and potential revision.

The President of the United States

In the United States, the President has the power to veto a bill passed by Congress to prevent it from becoming law. This authority, granted by Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution, is one of the President's most significant tools for influencing legislation. Even the threat of a veto can lead to changes in a bill before it reaches the President's desk.

The President has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to act on a bill. If the President does not sign the bill within this period, it becomes law automatically, provided Congress is still in session. If Congress adjourns before the 10 days have passed, the bill fails to become law, a procedure known as a "pocket veto". A pocket veto is an absolute veto that cannot be overridden.

The President can issue a "regular veto" by returning the unsigned bill to the originating house of Congress within 10 days, typically accompanied by a memorandum of disapproval or a "veto message". Congress can override a regular veto by mustering a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate. The first successful override of a presidential veto occurred in 1845, when Congress overrode President John Tyler's veto.

In addition to the presidential veto, all state and territorial governors have veto power, as do some mayors and county executives. Governors in many states and territories have additional veto powers, including line-item, amendatory, and reduction vetoes.

US state governors

In the United States, the president has the power to veto a bill passed by Congress to prevent it from becoming law. This authority is conferred by Article I, Section 7 of the US Constitution, which outlines the legislative process. The president has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to act on the legislation, after which it automatically becomes law. This is called a "regular veto" or a qualified negative veto. The president returns the unsigned bill to the originating house of Congress, usually with a "veto message" explaining their objections. Congress can override this type of veto with a two-thirds vote in both chambers.

The president can also exercise a "pocket veto", which is an absolute veto that cannot be overridden. This occurs when the president fails to sign a bill after Congress has adjourned and is unable to override the veto.

At the state level, all 50 US state governors have the power to veto bills passed by their state legislatures. This is similar to the presidential veto power. In addition to being able to veto an entire bill, many state governors have additional powers, including line-item, amendatory, and reduction vetoes. These powers allow governors to strike or revise specific parts of a bill without vetoing the entire legislation. Governors of 11 states and Puerto Rico also have a form of pocket veto, where they can reduce the amounts budgeted for spending items. The state legislature can override these vetoes.

The first state to adopt a line-item veto was Georgia in 1861, and the last state to grant its governor veto power was North Carolina in 1996. Additionally, governors of US territories, such as Guam and Puerto Rico, possess at least a package veto and a line-item veto.

Tribal governments

The concept of tribal sovereignty in the United States is founded on the idea that tribes have an inherent right to govern themselves. This right is not delegated by congressional acts, and current federal policy recognizes the sovereignty of federally recognized tribes. Tribal governments are considered separate from the federal government, state governments, and foreign nations.

While Congress can limit tribal sovereignty, tribes are assumed to possess all powers unless removed by a treaty or federal statute. Tribal sovereignty includes the right to establish their own form of government, determine membership requirements, enact legislation, and establish law enforcement and court systems. Tribal governments vary in size, with the largest being the Navajo Nation, encompassing over 27,000 square miles and nearly 400,000 tribal members as of May 2021.

In the United States, the president has the power to veto a bill passed by Congress, and this power also exists in some tribal governments. For example, the Navajo Nation president has a package veto power and a line-item veto for budgetary matters. The line-item veto cannot be overridden, as per a 2009 referendum. Additionally, some tribal constitutions adopted under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 grant the Secretary of the Interior a veto over tribal legislation.

The complex relationship between tribal sovereignty and state jurisdiction has been a point of contention, with tribes seeking to assert their authority over criminal matters on their lands. Tribal governments have worked to enhance their law enforcement capabilities and have successfully retroceded from Public Law 280, limiting jurisdiction to the federal government and the tribe. Supreme Court decisions, such as McGirt v. Oklahoma, have affirmed tribal sovereignty and the status of certain lands as "Indian reservations," impacting jurisdictional disputes.

Veto powers play a significant role in tribal-state relations, with instances where governors' vetoes have been criticized for not recognizing tribal sovereign rights. For example, in Maine, Governor Janet Mills' veto of LD 2004, which sought to recognize tribal sovereign rights, was seen as a misunderstanding of tribal-state relations and the U.S. Constitution.

The King of Tonga

While Tonga amended its constitution in 2010 to remove many of the monarchy's powers, the monarch retains significant authority, including a veto over government legislation. The King is also empowered to withhold royal assent from bills adopted by the Legislative Assembly.

In addition to his veto power, the King of Tonga has other important roles and responsibilities. For example, the King can remove cabinet ministers on the prime minister's recommendation or after a vote of no confidence in Parliament. The King also plays a role in the order of succession to the throne, which was established in the 1875 constitution. The crown descends according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture, which means that a female can succeed if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers with legitimate descendants.

Tonga has a long history as a monarchy, with the Paramount Chiefs gaining a strong reputation throughout the central Pacific Ocean by the 12th century. Tonga became a kingdom in 1845 and has been ruled by the House of Tupou since. The current king, Tupou VI, ascended the throne in 2012 after the death of his brother, King George Tupou V.

Veto players

A veto player is a political actor who has the ability to prevent a change from the status quo. In other words, they can stop a change in government policy. The concept of a veto originated with the Roman offices of consul and tribune of the plebs.

There are two types of veto players: institutional veto players and partisan veto players. Institutional veto players are those whose consent is required by the constitution or statute. For example, in US federal legislation, the House, Senate, and presidency are all institutional veto players. Partisan veto players are groups that can block policy changes from within an institutional veto player. In a coalition government, the partisan veto players are typically the members of the governing coalition.

According to George Tsebelis' veto player theorem, policy change becomes more difficult the more veto players there are, the greater the ideological distance between them, and the greater their internal coherence.

Veto powers can be classified by whether the vetoed body can override them and how. An absolute veto cannot be overridden at all, while a qualified veto can be overridden by a supermajority, such as two-thirds or three-fifths. A suspensory veto can be overridden by a simple majority and thus only serves to delay the law from coming into force. A package veto, or "block veto", vetoes a legislative act as a whole, while a partial veto, or "line-item veto", allows the executive to object to only a specific part of the law while allowing the rest to stand. An amendatory veto returns legislation to the legislature with proposed amendments, which the legislature may either adopt or override.

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