The presidential veto in the US is a means by which the President of the US (POTUS) can reject a proposed bill that has received a majority vote in both houses of the legislative branch of the government, the US House of Representatives and the US Senate. When the president exercises his/her right to reject the bill and use the presidential veto, the bill is returned to the House or Senate, wherever the bill first started, with remarks from the President on why the bill is being rejected. Often, when the bill originates from a majority congress that is in opposition to the POTUS’ political party, vetoes are a means of defeating bills that the POTUS feels are in opposition to his/her political aims as head of a political party.

When the POTUS uses a presidential veto, this does not necessarily mean that a bill can’t become a law. The US Constitution did give Congress a means to sign a bill into law after a presidential veto has occurred. In order to overturn a presidential veto, both houses in Congress must vote to approve the bill by a two-thirds majority.

One of the deep concerns of the founders of the US was that any one branch of the government could seize power and take the country in any direction that branch wanted. This is why the presidential veto, and the ability to overturn it exists. There is yet one more step that can overturn a law made by Congress after the president has vetoed it. Congress can pass a law, which can then be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The rights to stop a bill from becoming law, or to stop a law from being practiced, have several checks and balances along the way.

It’s also difficult to overturn a presidential veto because there is seldom a two-thirds majority of a political party in both congressional houses. Though occasionally members of the minority party will vote with the majority party, this still may not amount to enough votes to represent a two-thirds majority. On the other hand, when the president appears to be acting against the interest of most members of Congress, regardless of party, bipartisanship to overturn a veto can occur to severely limit presidential powers.

The third checkpoint, though, the Supreme Court, has the power to declare a law unconstitutional, and this may ultimately influence whether Congress even attempts to overturn a veto. If the Supreme Court appears to be in agreement with the president’s veto, the time it takes to try to create a law after veto has occurred may not be worth it. When the majority of Justices of the Supreme Court belong to the same political party as the president, they may do all they can to uphold the veto. Yet when concern exists in both the Supreme Court and Congress that the president is abusing his/her authority through vetoing, the Supreme Court may rule against party affiliation, and no matter how conservative or liberal their politics are, upholding the right of Congress to pass laws that conform to the constitution and are perceived as in the best interest of the country.