I know that if the president vetos a bill, if congress can get 2/3rds of the legislature to agree on it, they can over-ride that veto.
If a bill is passed unanimously, and they obviously have 2/3rds+ willing to vote for it, can the president veto?
I’m assuming that he still can, indeed, veto - and they’ll have to go through the extra step of overriding that veto.
But I’m not sure.
yes
Your assumption is correct. The president could veto the bill, and Congress would have to go through the process of overriding the veto.
As a kid, I wondered why the president couldn’t just veto the override, creating an endless loop.
Correct the first time!
President vetoes and forces congress to override that veto. It’s usually done as a “for the record” kinda thing so if it goes bad the Pres can say, “I told you so” somewhere down the road.
I can also see other reasons to veto it the first time. Like if the bill got only 67 votes, and the Pres thinks it might not get them all on the next try.
If the president could veto an override, it would be pointless to allow Congress to override vetoes.
Please consult your personal copy of the Federalist Papers.
I wasn’t asking if he can override the veto. I was asking: If it’s clear that congress has enough votes to obviously override the veto, would he still be able to veto? (And, then, having to go the extra step to actually override the veto)…
Anyway, my question was answered. thanks.
Of course, the Constitution specifically mentions a 2/3 override as a special action that Congress can take, so there’s no argument about what veto powers the President has.
One reason to veto a bill that has a close 2/3 majority already is that if a popular President is in offer, some people in Congress might not vote for it the second time to stand by the President.
Of course it also is the last resort to simply delaying passage of the bill.
Let’s not forget the handy-dandy pocket veto.
IIRC, the President can simply pocket the bill, neither signing it nor vetoing it, until enough time passes (i.e., Congress is no longer in session?) that it simply dies because he neither signed it, nor did they override the veto.
This would trump even a unanimous vote, right?
Nope. If the bill sits on the president’s desk for 10 days with neither a signature nor a veto, it becomes law without the signature of the president.
Standard scenario:
Weak Kneed Congress Critter goes with the flow and votes with a 2/3 majority for a bill.
President vetoes said bill.
WKCC sticks wet finger into the public opinion wind to see which way he should vote on the override, possibly different from the first vote.
Note that vetoes usually are uncommon and can be used to drag an obscure bill into public awareness. And once the public is aware, the potential for people switching sides arises.
(That’s the 8th grade civics version. In reality WKCC’s vote the way their campaign donators tell them to.:()
Slight finesse on Flymaster’s post:
If Congress is in session when the president “pocket vetoes” a bill, then it becomes law.
However, Keeve’s scenario is correct if Congress is adjourned, in which case the bill is vetoed after 10 days without a signature.
Cite: http://www.c-span.org/guide/congress/glossary/pktveto.htm
I think the OP’s point is, if 2/3 of the COngress has passed a bill, why would the President even bother to veto it, knowing there’s a s trong chance they’ll pass it over his veto?
First, the bill in question may be one that the president has strong philosophical objections to. Just because it’s momentarily popular in the Congress, we shouldn’t assume the proposed law is a good idea.
Second, Congressmen in the President’s own party are generally reluctant to vote for a bill he’s vetoed, even if they voted for it in the first place. So, not every Congressman who voted for a bill would vote to override the President’s veto.