Senate overrides Obama’s veto over Saudi 9/11 bill

This is for the first time in the history of the United States that the senate and the congress have voted to override the veto of President Barrack Obama. The outcome of the vote to override the veto was so overwhelming that it can be viewed as a sharp rebuke to the administration. Despite the fierce last-minute lobbying by the White House administration, Senate voted 97 to 1 in favor of the bill. President Obama vetoed the bill last week. House voted 348 to 77 in favor of the bill, overriding the veto.

The Justice against sponsors of Terrorism ACT (JASTA), which is popularly called as the 9/11 bill enables a US citizen to file lawsuits against foreign government officials in relation to a terrorist act committed in the United States. It has come under the spotlight as it would enable the victims of the 2001 twin tower tragedy to sue Saudi government officials as 15 of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has already warned against this law saying that the United States may suffer diplomatic retaliation over it. While Obama administration has been worried about diplomatic implications of the law, members of the congress said that their focus is on justice and the victims of tragedies.

The relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia has already deteriorated under the Obama administration over Iran nuclear deal and after this bill, it is likely to worsen.