White House Press Secretary Josh Ernest called the Senate override of President Barack Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act “embarrassing” as Airforce One landed in Richmond, Virginia Wednesday afternoon.
The upper chamber came out in full force Wednesday in a 97-1 vote against the president’s attempt to stop legislation that would allow families of the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks to sue the government of Saudi Arabia.
“This is the single most embarrassing thing the United States Senate has done possibly since 1983,” Ernest said adding, “At least one prominent Republican senator” was quoted as saying they’re “not quite sure what the bill actually did.”
Ernest went on to say, “To have members of the United States senate only recently informed of the negative impact of this bill on our service members and our diplomats is in itself embarrassing.” and to vote for override “is an abdication of their basic responsibilities as elected representatives of the American people.”
He added, “Ultimately these senators are going to have to answer their own conscience and their constituents as they account for their actions today.”
Ds angry at WH calling veto override of 9/11 bill “most embarrassing” thing Senate has done. “It’s amateur hour at the White House,” D says
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 28, 2016
The bill now goes to the House where it is also expected to receive the necessary two-thirds majority to override the president’s veto.
Also known as JASTA, the bipartisan bill was only voted against by outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who Ernest said “showed courage.”
“This legislation is really about pursuing justice,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn a leading sponsor of the bill with New York Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer, told reporters. “The families have already suffered too much. They’ve already suffered untold tragedy, of course, and they deserve to find a path to closure that only justice can provide.”
“But it was important in this case that the families of the victims of 9/11 be allowed to pursue justice,” Schumer said. “Even if that pursuit causes some diplomatic discomforts.”
The White House along with the Pentagon, however, argued that the passage of the legislation will make it much easier for foreign nations to sue the U.S. over deaths caused by American operations.