Glossary on the Republic

Override

Union

It is the constitutional comeback. The one move that lets Congress overrule the president and turn a rejected bill into law anyway.

When the president vetoes a bill, that is usually the end of it. But the framers refused to give any one person the final word over the law. So they wrote in a counter-move: the override.

Congress can override a veto, but the bar is deliberately steep. It takes a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate, far more than the simple majority that passed the bill in the first place. The high threshold means an override requires broad, often bipartisan agreement that the president is simply wrong.

Because that level of consensus is rare, overrides are rare. Of the thousands of vetoes in American history, only around one in fifteen has been overridden. Most presidents go their entire term without being overruled even once.

When it does happen, it is a significant rebuke. It means Congress felt strongly enough, and was united enough across party lines, to take the law out of the president's hands entirely.

Origin

The two-thirds vote in both houses by which Congress can enact a bill over a presidential veto.

Why it matters

The override is the final balance in the system, the check on the check. The president can say no, but Congress, if it can muster a true supermajority, can say no right back, and win. It is the constitutional reminder that even the most powerful office does not get the last word by itself.