Obama vetoes 9/11 bill allowing American families to sue Saudi Arabia

(Image credit: Pete Souza/White House via Getty Images)

published 23 September 2016

President Obama on Friday vetoed a controversial bill that would have enabled families of people killed in the 9/11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for its alleged involvement. The bill has been at the center of an emotional debate in Washington, as the effort was led by top Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and is supported by Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who was a senator for New York in 2001.

Obama had long promised to veto the bill, which would have ended the immunity from lawsuits foreign countries enjoy within the United States. The bill's detractors argued it would weaken sovereign immunity, with the Obama administration claiming "the bill could lead other nations to alter their laws upholding sovereign immunity ... [and] would have dire consequences for Americans posted overseas," CNN explained.

But the measure may have enough support to override the president's veto, with both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) saying this week they expected to have enough votes to push the bill through. Ryan expressed some trepidation toward the bill, however, saying he worried "about the precedence. At the same time, these victims do need to have their day in court."