“The United States relies on principles of immunity to prevent foreign litigants and foreign courts from second-guessing our counterterrorism operations and other actions that we take every day.”

RNC chair Reince Priebus said Obama’s veto “showed remarkable disregard for the families of 9/11 victims, and the Senate has done the right thing by overwhelmingly overriding his poor decision.”

Meanwhile Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio said the override was “about holding anyone who supports terrorists accountable, and getting their victims the justice they deserve.”

Families of 9/11 victims have campaigned for the law, convinced the Saudi government had a hand in the attacks that killed almost 3,000 people. (C-SPAN2 via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate acted decisively Wednesday to override President Barack Obama's veto of Sept. 11 legislation, setting the stage for the contentious bill to become law despite flaws that Obama and top Pentagon officials warn could put U.S. troops and interests at risk. Family members who fought for the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, or JASTA, applauded and cheered after the House voted, making possible the prospects they’ll see their trillion dollar lawsuit reinstated eight years after an appellate court in New York sidelined it. “Overriding a presidential veto is something we don’t take lightly, but it was important in this case that the families of the victims of 9/11 be allowed to pursue justice, even if that pursuit causes some diplomatic discomforts,” Senator Charles Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said in a statement. “Overriding a presidential veto is something we don’t take lightly, but it was important in this case.”

After a personal appeal from Obama, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, was the lone vote against the override. Reid’s office later distributed a letter from Obama to him explaining why he vetoed the bill on Friday after both chambers passed it without opposition earlier this month.
The United States Senate and House of Representatives override the veto of President Barack Obama in regards to the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. The act narrows the scope of the legal doctrine of foreign sovereign immunity, specifically, in this instance against the sovereign nation of Saudi Arabia. The action is the first such congressional veto override to Obama.